ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aviation Emissions

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action is being taken to reduce emissions from aviation.

Elliot Morley: We are pressing for the development of an open emissions trading system for international aviation through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly. However, we want to take advantage of the groundbreaking EU Emissions Trading Scheme and are therefore pressing for the inclusion of aviation into the EU ETS as a priority for our presidency.
	The European Commission has adopted a Communication on reducing the climate change impact of aviation, favouring the inclusion of the climate impact of aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). They aim to bring forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2006. Our aim is to reach a consensus on the way forward at the December Environment Council.
	The Commission have set up an Aviation Working Group under the European Climate Change Programme to discuss the design criteria involved in such a scheme.
	Emissions trading would give added weight to other emissions-reducing actions for which the Government will press, including:
	improved working practices by airports, airlines and air traffic controllers;
	research and development by aerospace manufacturers of new technologies; and
	voluntary action by airlines, airports and aerospace companies to control greenhouse gas emissions and develop sustainability strategies. Such action should include emissions reporting and targets at a company level.
	We recognise that these measures may not provide a total solution, therefore we continue to explore and discuss options for the use of other economic instruments.

Climate Change

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to co-ordinate Government work on climate change.

Elliot Morley: The Department is currently leading the review of the UK Climate Change Programme through interdepartmental work involving Officials from across Government. The review is being taken forward within the framework of the Sustainable Energy Policy Network (SEPN), set up following the publication of the Energy White Paper in 2003. SEPN meets regularly at official and ministerial level to discuss progress on a range of climate change and energy policy issues.

PFI Projects

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of (a) the sustainability and environmental impacts of private finance initiative (PFI) projects and (b) the effectiveness of the PFI process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects;
	(3)  what role her Department (a) has and (b) plans to take to make the private finance initiative process more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1495W and 6 December 2004, Official Report, column 278W.
	Since then, the business-led Sustainable Procurement Task Force has been established (in May 2005) to deliver a national action plan for Sustainable Procurement across the public sector by the end of April 2006.
	The Task Force is chaired by Sir Neville Simms and will build on existing work to provide Government with further actions ensuring that sustainable development considerations are taken into account in public procurement (including PFIs/PPPs).

Warm Front Grants

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average waiting time is for a Warm Front applicant for a central heating system from assessment to installation.

Elliot Morley: The average waiting time for the installation of a central heating system under Warm Front is between 3–6 months from date of assessment until date of installation.

Warm Front Grants

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors are taken into account when determining an application for a replacement heating system through the Warm Front grant; and to what extent elderly people are prioritised if their central heating system fails.

Elliot Morley: Warm Front provides a range of specified insulation and heating measures to households in receipt of specified qualifying benefits. The measures recommended for installation will depend upon the circumstances of the household and measures already installed. The scheme does not provide additional heating, but, where central heating systems are broken down or are performing intermittently at the time of the assessment, they can be repaired. In cases where a repair is not economically viable, the system may be replaced.
	Warm Front is not intended to be an emergency repair service. All who receive assistance from the scheme are considered vulnerable and the scheme works to provide measures promptly for all households.

TRANSPORT

Air Passenger Insurance/Levy

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the additional cost per passenger of (a) passenger insurance and (b) the £1 levy per flight proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority to meet the cost of insurance against airline bankruptcy for those airlines not covered by the Association of British Travel Agents.

Karen Buck: The Civil Aviation Authority factored the cost of commercially available insurance into the analysis it carried out for the purposes of the advice it provided to Government, published in September 2005.

Air Traffic

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft flying into UK airspace the National Air Traffic Control Service computer processes in an average (a) day, (b) month and (c) year.

Karen Buck: This is an operational matter for National Air Traffic Services (NATS). I understand they are willing to assist and suggest the hon. Member directs his inquiries to the NATS chief executive.

Air Traffic

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the time is of the (a) first and (b) last flights from Heathrow airport over-flying Molesey each day;
	(2)  what the volume of air traffic over-flying Molesey was in each of the last three years;
	(3)  how many (a) landings and (b) take-offs there were at Heathrow airport in each of the last three years; and how many aircraft were stacked above Molesey in each year.

Karen Buck: These are operational matters for BAA. I understand they are willing to assist and suggest the hon. Member directs his inquiries to the BAA chief executive.

British Transport Police

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of the British Transport Police are due to retire or step down in the next (a) 12 months, (b) five years and (c) 10 years.

Derek Twigg: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information:
	The number of police officers who will have completed 30 years service and be 50-years-old, and will therefore be eligible for voluntary retirement during the periods indicated are:
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 2005–06 0 
			 2005–10 45 
			 2005–15 62 
		
	
	The number of police officers who will reach the compulsory retirement age relevant to their rank during the periods indicated are:
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 2005–06 9 
			 2005–10 131 
			 2005–15 419

Classic Aircraft (Insurance)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent regulatory change on insurance costs for classic aircraft.

Karen Buck: Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators, which came into effect on 1 May 2005, imposes minimum passenger and third party insurance requirements on all aircraft according to weight. During the process of adoption of the regulation in the European institutions, the Department for Transport submitted a partial regulatory impact assessment to the Commons European Scrutiny Committee, informing it that the regulation would impose a regulatory burden on aircraft operators. No further assessment of the effect of the regulation on the cost of insurance for aircraft operators has been made, but some heavy historic aircraft have had to increase their insurance levels in relation to third party liability. The insurance industry has recognised the problem and sought to make premia affordable.

Commercial Aviation (Duty Hours)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Civil Aviation Authority has (a) issued warnings to and (b) made findings against (i) pilots and (ii) flight crew in respect of breaches of the annual limit for duty hours for commercial aviation, in the last year for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: UK airlines are required to have a flight and duty time limitation scheme approved by the Civil Aviation Authority and to take all reasonable steps to ensure that all members of their flight crew comply with the scheme. Such schemes have to include the statutory annual flight duty time limit imposed on individual members of flight crew. Flight time limitation schemes are designed to ensure that flight crew do not exceed annual duty time limits and breaches of the limits are few. The CAA does not keep a central record of breaches of duty time limits, but does audit operators records on a regular basis and, if required, ensures that changes to working patterns are instituted.

Commercial Aviation (Duty Hours)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual limit is for duty hours for commercial aviation (a) pilots and (b) flight crew under the EU Flight Time Limitations.

Karen Buck: There is currently no EC legislation establishing detailed flight time limitations for the flight crew of commercial aircraft. However, draft legislation on airline operational standards under consideration by the EC includes flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements. This legislation will impose an annual limit on flight duty time of 900 hours (pilots and flight crew). In addition Council Directive 2000/79/EC, which implements an industry agreement on working time for mobile staff in civil aviation (pilots and flight crew), establishes a limit of 2,000 hours for total duty time and a limit of 900 hours for flight duty time.

Departmental Estate

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the buildings owned by his Department; and what the purpose is of each one.

Karen Buck: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House, but information on the Highways Agency motorway maintenance depots and associated buildings can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department.

Karen Buck: As outlined in my answer of 27 October 2005, Official Report, column 503W, the Department for Transport operates competency based recruitment.
	If written and or/numerical skills are required for a particular position candidates are required to provide evidence, in their application forms, of what they have achieved using these skills. They are then questioned more about this in interview. If appropriate for the post, a test may be used, which is conducted by a trained assessor.
	Occasionally recruitment is by assessment centre, in which candidates undergo a number of work-type exercises, testing, among other skills, both writing and numeracy, as appropriate for the position.

Departmental Targets

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped in each year.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and the targets applicable at the time were the public service agreement (PSA) targets set in the 2000 Spending Review. A new set of PSA targets was agreed in subsequent Spending Reviews in 2002 and 2004.
	Performance against all PSA targets is reported in the Department's Annual Report and Autumn Performance Report. These also show how targets have evolved between Spending Reviews. In addition, performance is reported on the Department's website.

Fuel Efficiency Labels

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are taken to ensure that fuel efficiency labels produced in accordance with European Directive 1999/94/EC accurately reflect vehicle carbon dioxide emissions produced under normal road use.

Stephen Ladyman: European Directive 1999/94/EC requires car fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions information to be provided to consumers by means of labels and other media. The figures used are obtained by testing new vehicles to the ED fuel consumption/CO 2 driving procedure on a chassis-dynamometer (rolling-road). This standardised procedure is aimed at providing prospective new car buyers with a simple comparison of the relative efficiency of new vehicles. By its very nature it cannot anticipate the fuel consumption and C0 2 emissions that will be achieved by any particular motorist under any conditions of use. Fuel consumption on the road is significantly affected by many factors, especially driving style, traffic and road conditions, load carried, terrain, and the use of heaters, air conditioning and lights. It is therefore impossible to provide a single fuel consumption and, hence, CO 2 figure that is representative for all road users.

Gershon Review

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Department is implementing the recommendations of the Gershon Review; and what savings have been made as a result.

Karen Buck: The Secretary of State has established an efficiency programme to implement the recommendations of the Gershon Review. The Department has published an efficiency technical note on its website which gives more detailed information on the programme. A revised version of the efficiency technical note will be published by the end of November 2005.
	Progress was reported in Budget 2005 and in the departmental annual reports. Further progress will be reported in the autumn performance reports and at aggregate level in the pre-budget report.

Humber Bridge

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the amount of debt on the Humber Bridge was in each year since its opening; and what rate of interest was paid on the debt in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The debt on the Humber Bridge since its opening and the rate of interest paid are as follows:
	
		Debt (not including loans from Public Works and Loan Board (PWLB))
		
			  Debt (£) Average yearly interest rate (percentage) 
		
		
			 1982–83 135,789,954 13.63 
			 1983–84 151,701,693 13.34 
			 1984–85 169,644,160 13.05 
			 1985–86 189,215,633 12.81 
			 1986–87 210,437,430 12.53 
			 1987–88 233,231,729 12.26 
			 1988–89 256,985,313 12.02 
			 1989–90 282,496,818 11.85 
			 1990–91 309,772,421 11.87 
			 1991–92 342,772,676 11.69 
			 1992–93(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
			 1993–94(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
			 1994–95(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
			 1995–96(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
			 1996–97(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
			 1997–98(1) 359,307,192 11.62 
		
	
	(1) The debt would have risen to £650 million by March 1997 without Government assistance (mainly the payment of grants of £40 million plus a year, paid under the Appropriation Acts, to cover un-met interest charges).
	
		PWLB loans
		
			  £ Percentage 
		
		
			 1982–83 — — 
			 1983–84 19,000,000 10.4 
			 1984–85 24,000,000 10.37 
			 1985–86 44,000,000 10.09 
			 1986–87 44,000,000 10.09 
			 1987–88 48,000,000 10.07 
			 1988–89 53,500,000 9.98 
			 1989–90 58,500,000 9.97 
			 1990–91 62,000,000 9.57 
			 1991–92 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1992–93 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1993–94 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1994–95 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1995–96 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1996–97 66,000,000 9.05 
			 1997–98 66,000,000 9.05 
		
	
	On 1 July 1997 the Department signed a new loan agreement with the Humber Bridge board. This agreement was then subject to a parliamentary order under the Humber Bridge (Debts) Act 1996. This agreement and the Humber Bridge (Debts) Order 1998 (which came into force 19 August 1997) made the following provisions for the Humber Bridge debt:
	The PWLB debt was to be paid off;
	A new fixed consolidated loan interest rate of 7.75 per cent. would be applied;
	Interest payments would be suspended on £240 million of the Secretary of State's debt of £359 million;
	Suspended debt would be added back starting in the next financial year (in annual amounts starting at £11 million and rising by 4 per cent. per annum to reintegrate all the suspended debt);
	The debt would be repaid within a maximum of 40 years;
	A further £1.6 million of interest would be waived to allow for carriageway works.
	Since that time, the following applies to the Humber Bridge debt:
	
		
			  Total debt (£) Active debt (£) Interest rate on active debt (percentage) 
		
		
			 1998–99 359,307,192 119,307,192 7.75 
			 1999–2000 354,307,192 114,307,192 7.75 
			 2000–01 348,952,192 119,952,192 7.75 
			 2001–02 348,952,192 131,392,192 7.75 
			 2002–03 348,952,192 143,289,792 7.75 
			 2003–04 341,739,518 148,450,622 7.75 
			 2004–05 337,250,359 156,829,907 7.75

Light Rail

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of light rail.

Derek Twigg: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 9 November 2005, Official Report, columns 510–11W.

Light Rail

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of light rail systems in (a) Manchester and (b) Birmingham in terms of (i) economic and (ii) environmental objectives.

Alistair Darling: Light rail systems in Birmingham and Manchester have been subject to monitoring and evaluation studies. These studies focused on the impact of the schemes on travel behaviour, particularly in terms of levels of car usage, and the local economy.

Local Transport Plans

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities have set targets for the overall level of road traffic in their area as part of their full local transport plans in each year since the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 came into force; and what targets were set in each case.

Karen Buck: Table 1 1 lists the local transport plan areas with targets for overall levels of traffic along with the targets as reported in the progress reports following the submission of the first full local transport plans in 2000. Many other plan areas set targets for levels of traffic for parts of their areas or for particular time periods (for example peak hours).
	The Department requires all final second local transport plans (due for completion in March 2006) to include targets for the overall levels of road traffic. Some of the provisional second local transport plans (submitted in July 2005) have included indicative targets, although these will be superseded by those contained in the final versions of the plans.
	
		Table 1: Area wide road traffic reduction targets in first full local transport plans (as highlighted in DfT review of early progress reports)
		
			 LT name Local targets or outcomes 
		
		
			 Blackburn with Darwen Reduce annual peak hour traffic growth to 0 per cent. by 2006; contain off peak traffic growth to forecast local low growth levels. 
			 Blackpool Reduction in traffic levels. 
			 Bristol Reduce growth in private car traffic by 20 per cent. by 2005, and thereafter to seek a 20 per cent. reduction in private car traffic by 2015. 1996 base year: 1,228,000 (combined cordons). Base index = 100, 2005 Target = 110, 2015 Target = 80. 
			 Cheshire Cheshire traffic growth restrained to an overall increase of 15 per cent. on 1995 traffic levels by 2011. 
			 County Durham Reduce the forecast growth of traffic from 1.5 per cent. to 0.33 per cent. per annum throughout the plan period. 
			 Cumbria Local areas: traffic growth of 1 per cent./yr to 2006 in Allerdale; 1 per cent./yr to 2006 in Barrow; 0 per cent./yr in 2006 in Carlisle; 1 per cent./yr to 2006 in Copeland; 0.5 per cent./yr to 2006 in Eden; 3.7 per cent./yr to 2006 in South Lakeland; 0 per cent./yr to 2006 in Lake District. 
			 Dorset 10 per cent. reduction in traffic growth in all areas of rural Dorset by 2006 and 20 per cent. to 30 per cent. by 2016 (varies by area). 
			 Essex Reduce the rate of growth in traffic. Baseline—1998 traffic levels. 
			 Gloucestershire By 2010, average daily traffic volumes on the county's road network to increase by no more than 20 per cent., compared with 1996 levels. By 2006 the increase over 1996 to be no more than 15 per cent. 
			 Greater Manchester 8 per cent. increase in annual car kilometres on A and B roads by 2005–06, on 1991 base. (5,957m) 
			 Greater Nottingham Below 2.5 per cent. per annum. 
			 Hampshire To halve the rate of forecast traffic growth between 1998 and 2020 from 32 per cent. to 16 per cent. 
			 Hartlepool Overall traffic growth to be less than 5 per cent. between base year and 2005. 
			 Herefordshire To restrict the growth in traffic levels in Hereford to 1 per cent. per annum during the period 2001 to 2010. To restrict the growth in traffic levels on principal rural roads to 1 per cent. per annum during the period 2001 to 2010. 
			 Kingston upon Hull/Hull City Reduce car flow by approximately 1 per cent. per year. 
			 Luton-Dunstable Reduction in the Do-Minimum traffic forecast (2011). 
			 Merseyside (a) 0 per cent. growth to 2006 in the centres for peak periods.(b) 0 per cent. growth for 2006–11 above 20.8 per cent. max to 2006. 
			 Middlesbrough Reduce daily flows to 0 per cent. growth at town centre cordon by 2005 and 2 per cent. by 2010. 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1999 base line = 12,020 vehicles/km per 12 hour average weekday. Target = to keep annual growth to below 1999 level of 2 per cent. and to achieve zero growth by 2010. 
			 Oxfordshire To reduce traffic growth in the period 2000 to 2015 to half the forecast growth for Oxfordshire. 
			 Redcar and Cleveland Maximum 1 per cent. annual increase in traffic flows, national low growth forecast. 
			 Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Windsor and Maidenhead: traffic to increase by no more than 6 per cent. by 2006 from 1999. Rest of the borough: traffic to increase by no more than 10 per cent. by 2006 (based on vehicle numbers). 
			 Southend on Sea Increase in vehicle kilometres per average weekday of less than 11 per cent. by 2006. 
			 Stockton-on-Tees Limit traffic growth to forecast low growth figure of 4.5 per cent. (2000–05). 
			 Stoke on Trent Constrain traffic growth increase to 10 per cent. between 1999–2011 compared with the 1997 low-growth national projected increase of 15 per cent. over the same period. 
			 Suffolk Reduce growth 
			 Surrey To limit traffic growth (county roads only) to the 1998 level by 2016; milestone target 8 per cent. 2006; final target 2016 0 per cent. 
			 Telford and Wrekin Reduce to 1.6 per cent. per annum by 2010. 
			 Tyne and Wear Target for 2006 is to limit growth on principal roads to 2.524 billion vehicle kilometres from a base figure of 2.274 billion in 1996–97. 
			 Warrington Minimum 43 per cent. reduction in the predicted growth of traffic by 2011. 
			 West Midlands Restrict traffic growth from 1996 to 2011 to below 8 per cent. 
			 West Sussex Reduce by 50 per cent. the rate of traffic growth by 2016. 
			 West Yorkshire Traffic growth 1999–2006 not to exceed 5 per cent. (16 hour, all roads). 
			 Wokingham Restrain traffic growth in Wokingham (targets for borough split into five areas ranging from 4 per cent. to 8.5 per cent. between 1999 and 2006). 
			 York Limit overall growth in traffic to 4 per cent. (1999–2006) with a reduction of 13 per cent. on secondary and residential roads. 
		
	
	(2) The information in table 1 is based on an internal review and may omit some targets, The costs of a further review of the plans to checks for omissions are disproportionately high.

M1

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent information he has received on pollution levels in residential areas near the M1 motorway in Twisley, Sheffield; what assessment he has made of the likely effect on pollution levels there of plans to widen the M1; and if he will commission independent research on this matter.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has taken base level data on current pollution levels from Sheffield city council, from the agency's own monitoring and from information available from groups such as the Tinsley forum, who have been monitoring air quality in the Tinsley area since 1998.
	Emissions' modelling being carried out by the agency in collaboration with Sheffield city council, the Transport Research Laboratory and the Department for Transport is currently programmed to complete in summer 2006. This will feed into the Environmental Assessment, which will form part of the Scheme Appraisal. This will give a better guide as to what effects on air quality the M1 widening would have.
	Independent research on this matter is not felt necessary at this time.

M1

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will introduce proposals to construct a filter slip lane on the exit from the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway at junction 21 to enable vehicles to reach the M69 without having to negotiate the traffic island;
	(2)  if he will take steps (a) to reduce congestion and (b) to ease access to and egress from the M1 motorway at junction 21.

Stephen Ladyman: A scheme to widen the M1 between junctions 21 and 30 was added to the Government's Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI) in April 2004.
	This scheme includes proposals to provide a free flow link between the M1 Southbound and M69 and the M69 to M1 northbound. This will significantly reduce traffic movements through junction 21 and a filter lane for the M1 to the M69 southbound movement is not considered necessary.
	The Highways Agency plans to consult on this scheme in spring 2006 and invite comments on the published proposals.

Major Improvement Projects

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of funds in the current spending review period are allocated to (a) railways, (b) major transport projects in London, including rail projects, (c) light rail, (d) other public transport major improvement projects and (e) aviation.

Karen Buck: DfT does not allocate funding on the basis of these particular categories, and so the information sought is not available in the form requested. However, a breakdown of budgets for Resource and Capital DEL by PSA objectives and spending areas is set out in Table A2 of the 2005 Annual Report (Cm 6527), a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.

Mobile Phone Theft

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many mobile phones were stolen on the rail network in the past (a) 12 months, (b) two years and (c) five years.

Derek Twigg: The number of crimes recorded by the British Transport police in which mobile phones were stolen on the rail network (excluding London underground) over the last five years is given in the table:
	
		
			 Period Number 
		
		
			 1 November 2000 to 31 October 2001 5,971 
			 1 November 2001 to 31 October 2002 8,106 
			 1 November 2002 to 31 October 2003 8,876 
			 1 November 2003 to 31 October 2004 8,579 
			 1 November 2004 to 31 October 2005 7,188

Motorway Repairs

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance on good practice he has issued to (a) Highways Agency staff and (b) motorway police on closing lanes when members of the public have to repair a puncture on the driver's side of a vehicle; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Highways Agency Traffic Officers are highly trained in many aspects of traffic management including closing lanes, if required, to allow drivers to deal with offside wheel changes.
	The guidance given to Traffic Officers is comprehensive, and covers the provision of personal safety advice to drivers, including leaving the vehicle and standing in a safe place, not attempting even simple repairs and not standing between the vehicle and other traffic. Where the motorist is a member of a recovery organisation, the Traffic Officer will make contact with that organisation to arrange for them to come and change the wheel. If the motorist is not in a recovery organisation, Traffic Officers will call one out, and the motorist will be charged for the service.
	For large goods vehicles and passenger carrying vehicles, the guidance covers the need to consider closing a lane. Traffic Officers are trained in implementing lane closures, and under the Traffic Management Act they have the power to direct traffic accordingly.
	The Agency has issued no advice to the police on this matter.

Motorway Repairs

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities have occurred due to motorists having stopped on motorway hard shoulders (a) through breakdown and (b) for other reasons in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information available about accidents on the hard shoulder is based on data from STATS19 Accident Reporting. The data in STATS19 does not have the necessary information to enable the statistics on the two requested categories to be identified.
	The information that is available covers the number of motorists killed, either in or from vehicles stopped on the hard shoulder or in vehicles travelling along, entering, and leaving a motorway hard shoulder. This information is provided in section 1 of the following table.
	The total number of motorists killed, including those in the main carriageway, as a result of any accidents involving vehicles on hard shoulders of motorways, is provided in the table, section 2.
	
		Number of fatal casualties on motorways (M and A(M)), 2000 to 2004 on the Highways Agency 2006 Trunk Road Network
		
			  Classification Date Casualty injury (fatal) 
		
		
			 Section 1 Fatal casualties associated with HS accidents—vehicles on, entering or leaving the hard shoulder (also pedestrians who were hit by such a vehicle) 2000 4 
			   2001 4 
			   2002 13 
			   2003 5 
			   2004 1 
			 
			 Section 2 All fatal casualties involved in HS accidents 2000 166 
			   2001 176 
			   2002 194 
			   2003 196 
			   2004 147 
		
	
	Source:
	TRL (2005).

National Port Traffic

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) were (a) imported and (b) exported through the UK's 10 busiest ports in 2004–05; what percentage of each travelled to and from these ports by (i) rail and (ii) road; what the average distance of each TEU from the point of import to the TEU's final destination was; and what percentage of total TEU traffic through the UK's 10 busiest ports consisted of transshipment in 2004–05.

Stephen Ladyman: Estimates of container imports and exports through the UK's busiest ports in 2004, in terms of TEUs, are given in the following table.
	
		Container traffic at UK ports 2004 (thousand TEUs)
		
			  Imports Exports 
		
		
			 Felixstowe 1,338 1,300 
			 Southampton 735 701 
			 London 525 452 
			 Medway 315 316 
			 Liverpool 254 292 
			 Hull 166 143 
			 Belfast 70 72 
			 Forth 99 100 
			 Immingham 70 63 
			 Tees and Hartlepool 59 70 
		
	
	The information given includes container transhipments. Transhipped container traffic, however, is not separately identified in the returns made by shipping lines and ports to the Department, and separate estimates are not available. Information about the percentage share of container traffic travelling to and from ports by rail and road is not available.
	The average distances travelled by containers by road, from the port to the final destination, are given in the following table.
	
		Estimated average distance travelled by container by road from port to final destination, 2004
		
			 Port Kilometres 
		
		
			 Felixstowe 190 
			 Southampton 160 
			 London 110 
			 Medway 170 
			 Liverpool 100 
			 Hull 130 
			 Belfast(3) 90 
			 Forth(3) 60 
			 Grimsby and Immingham 150 
			 Tees and Hartlepool(3) 200 
		
	
	(3) Estimates based on a sample of less than 50 journeys.
	Comparable information is not available for rail.

Railways

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce his decision on the proposed train service changes along the Hastings to London Victoria line.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 14 November 2005
	An announcement on the draft Brighton Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy will be made in due course.

Railways

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce a new strategic north-south rail link.

Derek Twigg: The Government have asked Sir Rod Eddington to look at, among other things, the feasibility of a new north-south high-speed link. He will report to the Secretary of State in 2006.

Railways

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the impact of increasing penalty fares on the railways to £20 earlier this year.

Derek Twigg: Revenue protection is the responsibility of each train operator. The increase in penalty fare has restored and slightly increased the real value of the penalty, which had remained unchanged at £10 since 1989. We expect this increase to help train operators reduce the amount of ticketless travel on their networks.

Regional Transport Funding

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been allocated for regional transport funding by each regional government office in each year since 1997–98; and how much is planned to be spent in each of the next three years, broken down by region.

Karen Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given him today (UIN 27568).

Road Gritting

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the average number of days on which road gritting took place on motorways and trunk roads in each year since 2000.

Stephen Ladyman: The information is not available in the form requested for each year since 2000. However, with the introduction of a new monitoring system for the last winter season (2004–05), we are able to establish that road gritting took place on 58 days on average across the motorway and trunk road network. This is an average figure and there will be variations across the country.

Safest Vehicles

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which (a) vehicle and (b) vehicle type has had the lowest (i) death and (ii) injury rates among drivers and passengers in the UK since 1985.

Stephen Ladyman: For drivers, the lowest fatality rate by vehicle kilometres between 1985 and 2004 in Great Britain was among Bus and Coach drivers, with a rate of 0.03 per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The lowest equivalent injury (casualties killed or seriously injured) rates were among drivers of goods vehicles, with rates of 11.66 and 11.70 for Light and Heavy Goods vehicles respectively.
	For all vehicle occupants (including drivers), the lowest fatality rate by vehicle kilometres between 1985 and 2004 in Great Britain was among Light Goods Vehicle occupants, with a rate of 0.20 per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The lowest equivalent injury rate was among occupants of Heavy Goods Vehicles, with a rate of 13.88. These rates do not take into account the different vehicle occupancy rates of different vehicles.
	Comparable figures for Northern Ireland are not available.
	Information on casualty rates by vehicle type is not available.

School Crossing Patrols

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many school crossing patrols there were in West Sussex in (a) 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not held centrally.

Speed Cameras

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the revenue from fines resulting from speed camera convictions in Wiltshire in the latest year for which figures are available; and what sums were passed to (a) the Treasury and (b) the Wiltshire Speed Camera Partnership.

Stephen Ladyman: The latest published information, as shown on the Department's website—www.dft.gov.uk—is shown on the audit certificates for financial year 2003–04. For the Wiltshire Safety Camera Partnership area, revenue collected from fixed penalty fines for speeding and/or red light offences was £2,380,800. The Wiltshire Partnership reclaimed £1,259,124 to cover their allowable costs and the balance of £1,121,676 accrued to the Treasury.

Speed Cameras

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the revenue from fines resulting from speed camera convictions in Staffordshire was in the last year for which figures are available; and what sums were passed to (a) the Treasury and (b) the Staffordshire Safety Camera Partnership as a result.

Stephen Ladyman: The latest published information, as shown on the Department's website—www.dft.gov.uk—is shown on the audit certificates for financial year 2003–04. For the Staffordshire Safety Camera Partnership area, revenue collected from fixed penalty fines for speeding and/or red light offences was £2,436,240. The Staffordshire Partnership reclaimed £1,950,862 to cover their allowable costs and the balance of £485,378 accrued to the Treasury.

Taxicard Schemes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many taxicard schemes operate in England; and how much central funding was allocated to such schemes for 2005–06.

Karen Buck: The provision and funding of taxicard schemes is a matter for local authorities. We do not hold information centrally about such schemes.

Taxis

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) drivers and (b) passengers have been killed or injured in (i) purpose-built and (ii) converted van type taxis since 1985.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Traffic Calming Measures

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has commissioned on the impact on local residents' journey times of traffic calming measures to eliminate rat-runs, with particular reference to road closures.

Karen Buck: As part of the Urban Safety Project, the Department for Transport commissioned research into the impact of area wide traffic calming schemes, some of which involved partial or total road closures; this included research into the effect on journey times. The results of this research are reported in TRRL Research Report 263 Urban Safety Project: 3. Overall evaluation of area wide schemes", published in 1990. This report concluded that, in general, increased delays had not been a major penalty in the schemes.
	Decisions regarding the implementation of traffic calming measures are for local highway authorities, in consultation with local communities. Deliberations will usually involve a wide range of safety, environment, and traffic management considerations.

Train Operating Companies

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether franchisees are supervised by the Office of Rail Regulation in relation to the number of carriages provided on peak time services.

Derek Twigg: Capacity on franchised passenger services is determined by the terms of the contract between the franchising authority and the train operator.

US Civil Aircraft

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what records are maintained of US civil registered aircraft landing at UK airports.

Karen Buck: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I have given to him today (UIN 28400).

US Civil Aircraft

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what records are maintained of US civil registered planes landing at UK (a) public airports and (b) military airfields.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport maintains records of permits granted to US airlines engaged in civil commercial traffic at United Kingdom airports, where passengers or cargo are taken on board or discharged. Airports maintain records of aircraft movements for a variety of purposes such as charging, administering noise quotas or movements at night.

TREASURY

Civil Service Jobs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 981W, on civil service jobs, if he will break down the reduced civil service posts by (a) job title and (b) grade.

Des Browne: This information is not held centrally. Details of these reductions are a matter for individual departments.

Council Tax

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated change in an average annual council tax bill is for the next taxation year.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The level of council tax in the coming financial year will depend on local authorities' spending decisions. The Government are committed to ensuring that local authorities can continue to improve services without imposing excessive increases in council tax. We will shortly be announcing the provisional local government finance settlement which will cover 2006–07 and 2007–08.

Excess Winter Deaths

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many excess winter deaths of people aged over 65 years there have been in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Nigel Evans, dated 16 November 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many excess winter deaths of people aged over 65 years there have been in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in each year since 1997. (29041)
	Available figures on excess winter deaths (the excess number of deaths each winter compared to the average during other months of the year) for Ribble Valley local authority, Lancashire and England are included in the table below.
	The latest available figures for England are for 2004–2005. These figures for 2004–2005 are provisional and are not available for areas smaller than Government Office Regions.
	
		Excess winter deaths(4) (EWD) for persons aged 65 years and over for Ribble Valley local authority, Lancashire,(5) and England, 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			  England Lancashire Ribble Valley 
			  EWD(4) EWD Index(6) EWD(4) EWD Index(6) EWD(4) EWD Index(6) 
		
		
			 1997–98 20,070 14,9 440 12.6 60 38.8 
			 1998–99 41,110 31,3 940 27,9 80 51.5 
			 1999–2000 42,080 32.6 1,030 31,4 80 51.3 
			 2000–01 21,650 16.7 600 18.5 50 31.5 
			 2001–02 24,100 18.6 670 20.3 30 22.0 
			 2002–03 20,890 16.0 260 7.5 0 1.0 
			 2003–04 20,420 15.6 540 16.4 60 38.8 
			 2004–05(7) 27,000 21,4 — — — — 
		
	
	(4) Excess winter deaths are defined by the Office for National Statistics as the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). Figures for 1997–98 to 2003–04 are rounded to the nearest 10.
	(5) The figures provided relate to the current county of Lancashire. This excludes the unitary authorities of Blackburn and Darwen, and Blackpool, created in 1998, which were part of the former county.
	(6) The excess winter deaths index is calculated as the excess number of winter deaths divided by the average number of non-winter deaths, expressed as a percentage.
	(7) Figures for 2004–05 are provisional and are rounded to the nearest 100.

International Companies

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's revenue receipts from international companies operating in the UK have been in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of the receipts from that source in each of the next three financial years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available. The only figures available are from a recent ad hoc exercise that indicated that large foreign owned companies paid about £7 billion of UK corporation tax in their 2004 accounts—around a fifth of total liabilities of all companies.

Local Government

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to increase local government finances.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Spending Review 2004 settlement provides for continued investment in local authority services. This builds on the significant additional funding which we have been able to provide to councils since taking office—Government grant has increased by 33 per cent. in real terms since 1997. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will shortly be announcing the provisional local government finance settlement, which will cover 2006–07 and 2007–08.

Public Service Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to Table 5.1 of the HM Treasury report of December 2004 long-term public finance report: an analysis of fiscal sustainability; what the projected cost of public service pensions for each decade is expected to be, based on the framework agreement announced on 18 October;
	(2)  if he will break down savings on public services pensions announced on 18 October 2005 by the periods (a) 2003–04, (b) 2013–14, (c) 2023–24, (d) 2033–34, (e) 2043–44 and (f) 2053–54; and how much of the savings he expects to arise from (i) future and (ii) current employees.

Des Browne: The pattern of projected future cash flows at 10-yearly intervals over the next 50 years and the allocation of savings between current and future employees will depend on the outcomes of scheme specific negotiations and it would be premature to say what they will be.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the tax credits MPs' hotline is able to make outgoing calls on request to contact constituents of hon. Members who are suffering problems with their tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: The MPs' hotline to the Tax Credit Office is a discrete service designed to give hon. Members a direct and accessible link into the Department to discuss matters relating to their constituents' tax credits claims.
	Although the hotline has in exceptional cases been able to contact claimants directly, the service is not set up to work in this way. Doing so would divert resources from other areas, degrading the service available to MPs and other claimants.
	Individual claimants should call the tax credits helpline to discuss any concerns or queries they may have. Callers can ring the tax credits helpline seven days a week any time between 8 am and 8 pm, 362 days a year.

VAT (Care Services)

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to exempt people with a disability from VAT charges on social care services they receive from private or not-for-profit organisations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on zero-rating VAT charges on social care delivered by the private and not-for-profit sector; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Welfare services for people with disabilities are already exempt from VAT when provided by local authorities, charities and state-regulated private welfare institutions and agencies. For the purposes of the exemption 'welfare services' includes all types of personal care, and also support and assistance with routine domestic tasks where the recipient of the service cannot perform the task safely or adequately, or without significant pain or discomfort.
	This reflects the widest exemption available under our agreements with our European partners.
	I am not aware of any representations having been received by the Treasury about VAT zero-rating of social care in the past year.
	Under our agreements with our European partners, we are not able to extend our existing VAT zero rates or introduce any new ones.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Personnel (Kettering)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2005, Official Report, column 103W, on Territorial Army (Kettering), what the locations are of the units listed.

Don Touhig: The locations of Territorial Army units within a 35 mile radius of Kettering Town, can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit Location 
		
		
			 118 Recovery Company Detachment, 104 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corby 
			   
			 203 Squadron Detachment, 158 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps Melton Mowbray 
			   
			 C (222) Medical Squadron, 4 General Supply Medical Regiment Leicester 
			   
			 B Squadron, Royal Yeomanry, 118 Recovery Company Detachment, 104 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Leicester 
			   
			 C Company, East of England Regiment 46 Signals Squadron Detachment, 38 Signals Regiment Leicester 
			   
			 118 Recovery Company, 104 Battalion Royal 
			 Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Northampton 
			 C Company Detachment, East of England Regiment  
			   
			 Headquarters' Sqn, 158 Transport Regimental 
			 Headquarters' and Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps Peterborough 
			 Royal Anglian Band  
			   
			 89 Signals Sqn, 35 Signals Regiment Rugby 
			   
			 201 Transport Squadron, 158 Transport Regiment, 
			 Royal Logistics Corps Bedford 
			 54 Signals Squadron Detachment, 36 Signals Regiment  
			   
			 E (Royal Green Jackets) Company, Royal Rifle Volunteers Milton Keynes

Deepcut Review

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he published Joint Service Publication 751; if he will make this document available to Nicholas Blake QC for use in the Deepcut Review; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Don Touhig: The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Policy and Procedures (JSP 751) was published in March 2005. A copy will be made available to Nicholas Blake QC should he request one. Copies of Joint Service Publication 751 will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Spending

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1260W, on departmental spending, if he will itemise the works of art bought in 2004–05; and what the cost of each was.

Don Touhig: The works of art purchased during 2004–05 were a set of four paintings by Zil Hoque—"Nimbus I, II, III, IV"—the set having a cost of £160,000, excluding VAT, and a set of four paintings by Louise Cattrell—"Eyrie, Aerial, Tempest and Keep"—this set having a cost of £72,000, excluding VAT.

Drug Misuse (Armed Forces)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department collects on the use of illegal recreational drugs by service personnel; and how many disciplinary cases arising from drug misuse there were in each of the armed forces in each of the past five years.

Don Touhig: holding answer 14 November 2005
	Each of the Services maintains records of all disciplinary proceedings, including those where the charges involved are related to illegal use of recreational drugs.
	The numbers of convictions in disciplinary cases over the past five years 1 , in which drug misuse was a factor involved, are as follows:
	1 By calendar year.
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Royal Navy 
			 Summary dealings 4 16 3 8 5 
			 Courts martial 1 7 6 1 2 
			   
			 Army  
			 Summary dealings n/a 29 25 21 38 
			 Courts martial 11 17 11 10 8 
			   
			 Royal Air Force 
			 Summary dealings 4 0 2 1 1 
			 Courts martial 3 3 6 7 3 
		
	
	n/a = Not available.

Defence Transport and Movements Agency

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Defence Transport and Movements Agency (DTMA) annual report and accounts 2004–05, if he will make a statement on the DTMA's (a) in-year management control, (b) financial data and (c) short-term planning.

Adam Ingram: The audit of the accounts by the National Audit Office has provided the assurance that the necessary controls are in place to ensure effective in-year management.
	The Defence Transport and Movements Agency, along with other parts of the Ministry of Defence, is due shortly to receive a new forecasting and budgeting computer software package which is expected to improve the flow of financial data.
	The short-term planning process challenges all areas of the MOD to produce robust and affordable forward expenditure plans. DTMA, like all parts of the Department has a continued responsibility to respond to requests for savings measures. A clearer picture is, however, now emerging on how the centrally imposed savings wedges referred to in the DTMA annual report and accounts might be absorbed within individual projects.

Incremental Companies (Army)

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incremental companies there are in the British Army; and to which units each Incremental Company is attached.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 November 2005
	There are three Incremental Companies in the British Army: Nijmegen Company, The Grenadier Guards; 7 Company, The Coldstream Guards; and F Company, The Scots Guards.

Iraq

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether British Army commanders serving in Basra recently asked for extra troops; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether Lieutenant Colonel Henderson, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards in Basra, requested that Warrior armoured personnel carriers be made available; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 October 2005
	British Army Commanders in Iraq recently requested that an element of the Theatre Reserve Battalion be deployed to Multi National Division (South East) and to this end, as I announced on 10 October to the House, an extra Company from the 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers, based in Cyprus, would deploy for a few weeks to assist in the rotation of 12 Mechanised and seven armoured brigades.
	I am not aware of a specific request from Lieutenant Colonel Henderson, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, that Warrior Armoured personnel carriers be made available, but requests of this nature would in the first instance be discussed within the chain of command in theatre. However, the General Officer Commanding Multi National Division (South East) recently asked to retain a number of Warriors from 12 Mechanised Brigade. These have been made available to seven armoured brigade.

Munitions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces (a) guns and (b) other weapons have been recorded as (i) lost, (ii) stolen and (iii) missing in each year since 1997.

Don Touhig: The information requested is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Pistol Mil rifle SMG(8) LMG(9)/GPMG(10) Mortars Antique/Other Shot gun Baton gun Tgt rifle Total 
		
		
			 Lost weapons  
			 1997 1 1 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 22 
			 1998 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 1999 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 
			 2000 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 
			 2001 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 2002 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 
			 2003 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 
			 2004 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 2005 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Total 16 11 7 0 0 2 20 1 0 57 
			
			 Stolen weapons 
			 1997 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 
			 1998 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 
			 1999 0 9 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 12 
			 2000 21 2 0 0 0 10 7 0 2 42 
			 2001 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 
			 2002 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 
			 2003 6 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 2 19 
			 2004 3 11 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 18 
			 2005 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 15 
			 Total 44 48 0 0 1 27 8 0 11 139 
		
	
	(8) SMG—Sub-Machine Gun
	(9) LMG—Light Machine Gun
	(10) GPMG—General Purpose Machine Gun
	No data is collated on 'missing' weapons. Instances of missing weapons are investigated promptly and then categorised as either 'lost' or 'stolen'.

Nuclear Waste (Storage)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total volume of nuclear waste produced and requiring storage by (a) his Department and (b) military installations was in each year since 1990, broken down by category of waste; whether the waste is in (i) temporary and (ii) permanent storage; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No central records are held on volumes of nuclear waste produced and requiring storage for each year since 1990. However, I refer the hon. Member to the United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory 1 to which the Ministry of Defence contributes, and which provides periodic snapshots on radioactive waste stocks, including categories of waste, location and whether the waste is held in temporary or permanent storage. The inventory has previously been published in 1991,1994 and 1998, and a copy of the most recent inventory, for 2001, is available in the Library of the House. A new inventory, for 2004, is in preparation and is due to be published shortly. A copy will be placed in the Library.
	1 The United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory is published at three or four yearly intervals by DEFRA and NIREX. The reports provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on waste as at 1 April of the title year. The Inventory includes information on the quantities, types and characteristics of waste.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Asian Earthquake

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of Government funding pledged for the Asia earthquake will be spent on education initiatives.

Gareth Thomas: There are no specific allocations earmarked for education within the £33 million committed to the relief effort. At present the priorities are to ensure that immediate relief needs such as shelter, water and sanitation and health are met.
	The earthquake has caused extensive destruction to physical infrastructure. According to the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank Needs Assessment, most educational institution buildings have either been destroyed or rendered dangerous in the affected area. According to current estimates, 853 teachers and 18,095 students have died. As well as the terrible human cost, the financial cost of rebuilding the infrastructure is estimated to be US$335 million.
	DFID will make a significant contribution towards the $5.2 billion estimated by the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank for reconstruction and the return of livelihoods to affected areas. An announcement will be made before the international donor conference in Islamabad on Saturday 19 November.

Asian Earthquake

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total amount of aid given to (a) the Pakistan Government and (b) aid agencies has been following the earthquake of 8 October; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a total of US$1.44 billion (£828 million) has been pledged by the international community towards relief and reconstruction efforts following the earthquake on 8 October. Of these pledges, US$376 million (£216 million) has been committed. At this stage, it is not possible to accurately disaggregate the total aid allocations through each funding channel.
	The UK has so far pledged £33 million of which £29.6 million has already been committed through UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations (NGO)s, the Red Cross movement and through direct actions including support to the NATO airbridge and UK helicopter deployment in Pakistan.
	The following table presents a breakdown of UK Government spending as of 14 November. Further detail can be found in the regular situation reports available on the DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk.
	
		UK spending as of 14 November
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 NGOs 5,394,171 
			 UN (including direct to UN agencies) 7,438,250 
			 Red Cross/ Red Crescent 3,578,250 
			 MOD (pledged) 3,000,000 
			 DEC Airlift 3,294,962 
			 NATO (pledged) 4,000,000 
			 ECHO 1,600,000 
			 DFID Pakistan (to be programmed) 1,000,000 
			 Search and Rescue/DFID assessment teams 347,465 
			 Total 29,693,098

Call Centres

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many call centres were run by his Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and how many and what proportion of calls (i) were handled by an adviser, (ii) were received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has not operated any call centres in the years specified. While we do not have any calls centres, we do operate a Public Enquiry Point which answers telephone, email and letter inquiries. For the years specified, it has handled the following number of inquiries:
	
		
			  Number of inquiries Of which: were calls 
		
		
			 2003 18,976 6,807 
			 2004 18,820 6,784 
			 2005 (as at 14 November) 20,902 7,113

Commission for Africa

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times the Commission for Africa has met this year.

Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa was established in February 2004 and finished its work at the end of July 2005. There were three full meetings of the commissioners in May 2004, October 2004 and February 2005.

Commission for Africa

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many countries are members of the Commission for Africa.

Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa was established in February 2004. It was made up of 17 commissioners, nine from Africa, all working in an independent capacity. The Commission for Africa report, 'Our Common Interest' reflects an extensive consultation programme, which included participation from 49 African countries.

Departmental Budgetary Support

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries have been provided with direct budgetary support by his Department; and what the allocation for each country through direct budgetary support has been in each year since 1999.

Hilary Benn: The countries listed are those that have received Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS) from DFID over the last five years. Amounts shown include general PRBS (i.e. a general contribution to the overall budget) and sector PRBS (i.e. support with a more restricted focus). We do not have centrally collated figures for PRBS payments made prior to this period; to obtain this information for 1999–2000 would incur a disproportionate cost.
	
		Poverty reduction budget support
		
			   £000 
		
		
			 Africa   
			 Ethiopia 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 10,000 
			  2003–04 20,000 
			  2004–05 45,000 
			
			 Ghana 2000–01 40,000 
			  2001–02 25,000 
			  2002–03 20,000 
			  2003–04 25,000 
			  2004–05 35,000 
			
			 Kenya 2000–01 15,000 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 0 
			  2004–05 0 
			
			 Malawi 2000–01 30,000 
			  2001–02 12,500 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 10,000 
			  2004–05 15,000 
			
			 Mozambique 2000–01 15,700 
			  2001–02 25,700 
			  2002–03 14,700 
			  2003–04 20,325 
			  2004–05 35,839 
			 Rwanda 2000–01 25,400 
			  2001–02 18,000 
			  2002–03 22,000 
			  2003–04 18,750 
			  2004–05 34,250 
			
			 Sierra Leone 2000–01 19,500 
			  2001–02 10,000 
			  2002–03 10,000 
			  2003–04 10,000 
			  2004–05 12,000 
			
			 Tanzania 2000–01 40,000 
			  2001–02 35,000 
			  2002–03 45,000 
			  2003–04 60,250 
			  2004–05 65,537 
			
			 Uganda 2000–01 60,000 
			  2001–02 47,000 
			  2002–03 29,500 
			  2003–04 30,000 
			  2004–05 35,000 
			
			 Zambia 2000–01 15,000 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 7,622 
			  2003–04 7,849 
			  2004–05 13,198 
			
			 South America   
			 Bolivia 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 2,000 
			  2004–05 1,250 
			
			 Asia   
			 Afghanistan 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 100 
			  2004–05 0 
			
			 Bangladesh 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 6,585 
			  2003–04 24 
			  2004–05 29,800 
			
			 India 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 65,000 
			  2002–03 30,000 
			  2003–04 75,000 
			  2004–05 71,260 
			
			 Nepal 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 0 
			  2004–05 2,107 
			
			 Pakistan 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 20,000 
			  2002–03 20,000 
			  2003–04 50,000 
			  2004–05 7,500 
			
			 Vietnam 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 10,000 
			  2004–05 20,000 
			 Europe   
			 Macedonia (FYR of) 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 3,000 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 0 
			  2004–05 0 
			
			 Moldova 2000–01 0 
			  2001–02 0 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 0 
			  2004–05 200 
			
			 Serbia and Montenegro 2000–01 3,398 
			 (including Kosovo) 2001–02 7,000 
			  2002–03 0 
			  2003–04 0 
			  2004–05 0

Guatemala

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian assistance provided to Guatemala after hurricane Stan.

Gareth Thomas: Following the impact of hurricane Stan on Guatemala, DFID is providing support through the non-governmental organisations CARE and Plan International. £172,000 has been provided for their humanitarian response to the disaster. The support, covering a period of three months, includes emergency food, plastic sheeting, other non-food items, water and water treatment.
	In addition, the European Community's humanitarian office provided €4 million for Guatemala. This aid is to help meet the most urgent needs of 30,000 affected families in terms of water and sanitation, food security, health, emergency shelter, non food items and information management. The United Kingdom share of this European Commission support is approximately £485,000.

India (Floods)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the Government have allocated to relief for the flooded Mumbai province in India.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is providing £2 million to the United Nations children's fund, UNICEF, for immediate relief purposes and for the restoration of public services, following flooding due to excess monsoon rains that occurred in many parts of India in July 2005. Approximately 37 per cent. (£740,000) is directed to the State of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. A substantial proportion of this is directed to Mumbai municipality and the remainder to districts of the state which were severely flood affected.
	DFID funding has been used to provide immediate relief for flood victims, including blankets, oral re-hydration salts and appropriate medicines to combat diarrhoeal diseases resulting from contamination of water supplies, and provision of safe water and sanitary facilities and surveillance systems to reduce disease outbreaks. Provision has also been made for post disaster recovery in the slightly longer term (up to six months), including restoration of mother and child health centres, development of water supply and sanitation facilities, including in schools, and strengthening of health services.
	It is worth noting that the Government of India has a well developed capacity for responding to natural disasters and rarely requests outside assistance. The request to assist with flood relief in Maharashtra and elsewhere came from UNICEF and we received timely approval from the Indian Government to proceed.

South Asian Tsunami

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding each of the G8 nations has (a) pledged, (b) committed and (c) spent on the relief effort in countries affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Gareth Thomas: The UK does not keep a record of how much funding other G8 nations have pledged, committed and spent on relief efforts following the Indian Tsunami. However, the Governments of Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand, in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme, are each developing a 'Development Assistance Database' (DAD) to register tsunami recovery resources and results. It is intended that once fully operational, all of these systems will be accessible online.
	The UK has allocated £75 million for the immediate humanitarian relief effort following the tsunami. A total of £68.7 million of this has been committed, while the remainder has been set aside for disaster risk reduction projects.
	DFID has allocated £65 million to meet reconstruction needs in the tsunami affected countries. From this allocation, £31 million has been committed to the Multi Donor Trust Fund in Indonesia, of which £6 million has so far been paid out. A further £5 million has been committed for technical assistance in Indonesia to help ensure timely, accountable and equitable provision of reconstruction assistance and rebuilding of livelihoods. A total of £2 million has been committed to Sri Lanka to help speed up implementation of reconstruction programmes and to ensure equitable distribution of assistance, and £1.5 million of this has been allocated to the North East Provincial Council to increase their capacity to deliver services to affected communities. A total of £3 million has been committed to India to provide technical assistance aimed at ensuring effective, transparent and equitable programming of tsunami reconstruction efforts. The use of the balance will depend on evidence of where this funding can be most appropriately used.

South Asian Tsunami

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of post-tsunami British aid to the Sri Lankan Government has been spent; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID disbursed around £4.2 million for programmes specifically to meet relief needs in Sri Lanka. This was channelled through the United Nations and non-governmental organisations such as OXFAM, Save the Children Fund, the Red Cross and CARE. Sri Lanka also benefited from some of the £41.5 million DFID disbursed for regional activities.
	A further £800,000 has been provided to finance technical expertise to assist in the identification and assessment of recovery needs, and to support implementation.
	In addition, DFID will be providing £1.5 million to strengthen the capacity of the North East Provincial Council to plan and deliver services and assistance in the North East of Sri Lanka, which accounts for 70 per cent. of the area damaged by the tsunamis. We anticipate releasing the first £500,000 shortly. We are considering proposals for a further £500,000 of new support, which will be disbursed over the next year.
	For the next 10 years, we will also be providing £41 million of Debt Relief, which will meet 10 per cent. of the cost of Sri Lanka's loan repayments to the International Development Association, the concessional lending arm of the World Bank. This will release Sri Lanka's own funds for tsunami recovery and poverty alleviation programmes. We expect to make the first payment of approximately £3.2 million in December.

Tibet

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of the building of the Gormo-Lhasa railway on the culture of Tibet.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is not involved in this project, either directly or through its shareholding in the multilateral banks such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. These institutions along with the European Commission have confirmed that they are not involved in the project, nor have they, or DFID made any separate assessment of its impact.

Trade Justice

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to move the focus of international development from free trade to trade justice.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government are committed to the development of an open and rules-based international trading system that fulfils its potential to contribute to the reduction of poverty in poorer countries. Our key policy commitments on trade and development, as well as our objectives for the current Round of multilateral trade talks, are set out in the Government's White Papers, Making Globalisation a Force for Good" (July 2004) and Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor" (December 2000). The UK Government are working hard to support the poorest and most vulnerable producers, be it through multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or regional trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreements.
	The UK Government do not support forced liberalisation or unfettered free trade. The UK Government fully supports the view that developing countries should be allowed to develop their own trade policies. At the G8 summit this principle was endorsed by others who agreed that within the WTO negotiations
	flexibility will help least developed countries to decide, plan and sequence their overall economic reforms in line with their country led development programmes and international obligations."
	In the long-term the removal of trade barriers, if managed properly, can help developing countries can gain better access to developed country markets and more competitively priced inputs. However, the agenda is broad. We must not only reduce barriers to trade such as subsidies and import tariffs but also invest in developing countries capacities to trade. To do this we are providing additional development assistance to poor countries to help them undertake this investment and give them the time and space to adjust to trade reforms.
	The G8 also agreed to provide increased funds for trade related capacity building to assist developing countries take advantage of the new opportunities from a positive conclusion to the Round. There is increased international support for increased 'Aid for Trade' as reflected at the recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings and the G8 summit in Gleneagles. It is important that we build rapidly on the outcome of these meetings.
	We now have less than five weeks to go before Hong Kong and are working with international partners to deliver on the ambition of Doha and build on G8 commitments. The UK Government are working to achieve an outcome that delivers real gains for developing countries, including the poorest. These gains should include improved participation by developing countries in the world trading system, through substantially increased market access for developing countries and the dismantling of trade-distorting agricultural subsidies by industrialised countries.

Water and Sanitation (Funding)

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to increase the resources allocated to water and sanitation by the infrastructure plans of the Africa Partnership Forum.

Hilary Benn: The main role of the Africa Partners Forum relating to water and sanitation will be to monitor progress against commitments made at the G8 summit in Gleneagles. These included commitments to: implement the G8 water action plan agreed at Evian in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative on rural water and sanitation, to increase aid for water and sanitation, and maintain political momentum and commitment in these areas.
	As one response to these commitments, we have played a leading role in establishing the infrastructure consortium, which aims to accelerate progress towards meeting urgent infrastructure needs in Africa. It will address both national and regional constraints to infrastructure development and encourage better co-ordination and collaboration in key infrastructure sectors. The consortium is not a financing agency, but will act as a platform to broker more donor financing of infrastructure projects and programmes in Africa.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will meet the Scottish Executive to discuss putting a case to the International Olympic Committee for a separate Scottish team for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: As I said in my previous answer to the hon. Member on 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1261, it is highly unlikely that the International Olympic Committee would consider the issue of a separate Scottish Olympic team because of Scotland's constitutional relationship with the rest of UK. I therefore have no plans to take this matter further.

London Development Agency (Tenders)

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the London Development Agency (LDA) about the tendering process for Olympic projects; and if she will ask the LDA to publish the names of companies shortlisted for tenders.

Richard Caborn: My officials are in discussion with the Interim Olympic Delivery Authority team, based in the London Development Agency (LDA), in relation to their procurement strategy, the initial draft of which is expected to be ready in December. I will not ask the LDA to publish shortlists in all cases, as on occasion this may hinder open and effective competition. A case-by-case judgment will need to be made.

Lottery Funding

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much national lottery funding has been directed towards asylum-seeker groups in each year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: Since 1997 lottery distributors have awarded the following amounts in each calendar year to projects relating to asylum seekers. Due to the nature of lottery awards and the way in which information is stored on the Department's lottery awards database, some of this money will have gone to a wider group of people than just those seeking asylum. Similarly other lottery awards will have indirectly benefited asylum seekers.
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 1997 119,352 
			 1998 415,072 
			 1999 548,836 
			 2000 1,425,420 
			 2001 5,585,659 
			 2002 7,971,619 
			 2003 6,317,719 
			 2004 8,467,205 
			 2005 (To date) 2,278,837 
		
	
	In total, one fifth of 1 per cent. of all lottery awards have been made to awards described in the table.
	This information, derived from the Department's lottery award database, is searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors.

Olympic Park

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the likely number of visitors to the Olympic Park for the 2012 games.

Richard Caborn: London 2012's candidate file includes a table that sets out estimates of average and maximum spectator numbers for all Olympic venues based on modelling work to provide an understanding of demand. Average figures are based on expected ticket sales and maximum figures are based on 87 per cent. of gross venue capacity to ensure adequate spectator transport capacity.
	Estimates for the venues within the Olympic Park are as follows:
	
		
			 Venue Spectators per day Spectators per session 
			  Average Maximum Average Maximum 
		
		
			 Olympic Stadium 77,200 139,200 53,400 69,600 
			 Aquatics Centre 33,000 52,200 13,900 17,400 
			 Velodrome 5,200 10,400 4,400 5,200 
			 Olympic Park Arena 1 18,200 31,200 7,600 10,400 
			 Olympic Park Arena 2 (Basketball preliminaries) 21,200 31,200 7,500 10,400 
			 Olympic Park Arena 2 (Modern Pentathlon: shooting, fencing) 3,200 4,400 3,200 4,400 
			 Olympic Park Arena 3 13,700 26,100 5,700 8,700 
			 Olympic Park Arena 4 7,400 10,400 3,700 7,000 
			 Hockey Centre 24,300 39,300 9,500 13,100 
			 BMX Circuit 4,600 5,200 4,600 5,200

Olympic Park

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of visitors to the 2012 games Olympic Park are expected to use (a) private and (b) public transport.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic transport proposals contained in the candidature file submitted to the International Olympic Committee encourage all spectators to use public transport, to walk, or to cycle, except for those whose mobility is impaired, for whom car parking provision will be made.

Olympic Park

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what land is planned to be used for car parking for the 2012 games Olympic Park.

Richard Caborn: While the exact design of the Olympic Park is yet to be finalised, it is envisaged that car parks will be kept to the minimum necessary to provide for those disabled visitors unable to use public transport, and for the vehicles needed to transport the athletes and officials.

Olympic Park

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many car parking spaces will be made available for spectators going to the 2012 games in the Olympic Park.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Transport Proposals—as set out in the Candidature File presented to the International Olympic Committee—encourage all spectators to use public transport, to walk, or to cycle. They therefore make no provision for spectator parking in the Olympic Park, or in the surrounding streets, except for people with impaired mobility.

Sport England

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding Sport England has allocated to areas of health inequalities in each of the last two financial years; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I am able to provide data from Sport England on awards (committed in the financial years 2003–04 and 2004–05) to the Spearhead Group of local authority districts that are in the bottom fifth nationally for three or more of the five indicators of health inequality.
	
		Sport England lottery awards to Spearhead local authorities for the two financial years to 31 March 2005
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 Total 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham — — — 
			 Barnsley 122,250 319,834 442,084 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 153,072 — 153,072 
			 Birmingham 871,652 — 871,652 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 66,112 108,000 174,112 
			 Blackpool — 345,000 345,000 
			 Blyth Valley — 120,000 120,000 
			 Bolsover 82,782 — 82,782 
			 Bolton 1,830,038 320,616 2,150,654 
			 Bradford 1,140,605 901,797 2,042,402 
			 Burnley — 1,000,000 1,000,000 
			 Bury — — — 
			 Carlisle — 398,000 398,000 
			 Chester-le-Street 734,695 220,000 954,695 
			 Corby 71,643 388,500 460,143 
			 Coventry 1,493,480 — 1,493,480 
			 Derwentside — 420,000 420,000 
			 Doncaster — — — 
			 Easington — 360,000 360,000 
			 Gateshead — 1,800,000 1,800,000 
			 Greenwich — — — 
			 Hackney — — — 
			 Halton 107,664 344,930 452,594 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 150,000 — 150,000 
			 Haringey — 238,840 238,840 
			 Hartlepool — 642,000 642,000 
			 Hyndburn — — — 
			 Islington 106,079 2,000 108,079 
			 Kingston upon Hull City 260,990 577,685 838,675 
			 Knowsley 470,000 699,110 1,169,110 
			 Lambeth 2,671,406 — 2,671,406 
			 Leicester 3,243,251 469,046 3,712,297 
			 Lewisham 582,602 — 582,602 
			 Lincoln — 251,100 251,100 
			 Liverpool 4,618,182 300,000 4,918,182 
			 Manchester 3,097,841 2,494,000 5,591,841 
			 Middlesbrough 160,000 1,811,470 1,971,470 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne — 761,127 761,127 
			 Newham 300,000 1,500,000 1,800,000 
			 North East Lincolnshire 40,280 — 40,280 
			 North Tyneside — 900,000 900,000 
			 Nottingham 647,450 1,419,191 2,066,641 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 524,050 — 524,050 
			 Oldham — 150,000 150,000 
			 Pendle — — — 
			 Preston 1,850,000 — 1,850,000 
			 Redcar and Cleveland — 600,000 600,000 
			 Rochdale — 298,904 298,904 
			 Rossendale — 150,000 150,000 
			 Rotherham 57,000 — 57,000 
			 Salford 207,000 800,000 1,007,000 
			 Sandwell 765,045 — 765,045 
			 Sedgefield — 154,500 154,500 
			 South Tyneside 40,000 161,929 201,929 
			 Southwark 3,302,694 — 3,302,694 
			 St. Helens 112,187 — 112,187 
			 Stockton-on-Tees — — — 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,065,602 — 1,065,602 
			 Sunderland 50,000 1,066,697 1,116,697 
			 Tameside 61,285 1,672,779 1,734,064 
			 Tamworth — — — 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,280,155 — 1,280,155 
			 Wakefield 3,094,988 852,990 3,947,978 
			 Walsall 529,000 — 529,000 
			 Wansbeck — 648,008 648,008 
			 Warrington 800,000 555,000 1,355,000 
			 Wear Valley 641,635 — 641,635 
			 Wigan — 742,000 742,000 
			 Wirral 45,000 — 45,000 
			 Wolverhampton 399,563 13,977 413,540 
			 Grand total 37,847,278 26,979,030 64,826,308

Staff Discipline

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employees have been dismissed by her Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Lammy: The Department dismissed one employee in 2000–01, one employee in 2003–04 and two employees in 2004–05.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers Allowance

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will reform the policy whereby widows under retirement age, unable to work because of carer's responsibilities and in receipt of a husband's pension, are not eligible for carers' allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: It is a fundamental principle of the social security system that only one benefit at a time can be paid for income maintenance. Carer's allowance provides a measure of financial support to those who give up the opportunity of full-time paid employment to care for a severely disabled person. As such it is not an extra-costs" benefit. To pay both benefits in full therefore would duplicate provision for the same need.
	Where carer's allowance is overlapped in full, the person maintains an underlying entitlement to the benefit which, in turn, gives them access to the carer premium in the income-related benefits such as income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	There are no plans to change this policy.

Child Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what statutory obligations there are on non-resident parents who have been assessed for Child Support Agency maintenance to inform the Agency of any change of (a) address and (b) employment; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: There are no statutory obligations on non-resident parents who have been assessed for child support maintenance to inform the CSA of either change of address or employment.

Council Tax Rebate

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what mechanism those not claiming pension credit will be able to claim the £200 council tax rebate.

James Plaskitt: In most cases the £200 payment to help with council tax bills will be paid automatically with the winter fuel payment. Payments are being made over a number of weeks from early November until Christmas 2005. Eligible people who do not receive a winter fuel payment will need to claim.
	People who need to claim or who have not received an automatic payment by Christmas 2005 should call the office that pays their benefit or the winter fuel payment helpline on 08459 15 15 15. Claims must be received by 30 March 2006.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the aims and purposes of the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: The Child Support Agency exists to deliver an efficient child support service, which plays its part in ensuring that children whose parents do not live together are financially supported.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on Government plans to reduce the complexity of Child Support Agency maintenance calculations.

James Plaskitt: The introduction of the new child support scheme in March 2003 brought in a much simpler way of calculating maintenance. We know that many parents now choose to calculate maintenance themselves by using the on-line calculator on the agency's website.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken in response to the recommendation in the Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No. 243 that all disabled claimants and all care leavers should be made exempt from the single room rent restriction; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: We are continuing to consider the issues raised by this report.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations his Department has received on the impact of the single room rent restriction on (a) homelessness and (b) poverty among young people.

James Plaskitt: We have received representations concerning the single room rent from various bodies including Shelter, Centrepoint, YMCA and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Incapacity Benefit

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there were in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) Wantage constituency in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2005.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Oxfordshire and the Wantage parliamentary constituency.
		
			  May 1997 May 2005 
		
		
			 Oxfordshire 12,700 14,700 
			 Wantage parliamentary constituency 1,900 2,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. 1997 Figures have been produced using the 5 per cent. proportions against WPLS totals.
	3. Claimant" figures include all IB and SDA (including IB credits only cases).
	4. Oxfordshire" includes the following local authorities: Cherwell, Oxford, South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time spent on incapacity benefit in (a) pathways to work areas and (b) the UK excluding pathways to work pilots was in each quarter since each of the pilots began.

Anne McGuire: The information has been placed in the Library.

Rachel Scully (Pension)

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the Retirement Pension Forecast team will supply Rachel Scully, a constituent of the hon. Member for Birkenhead, with a forecast which takes into account her underlying entitlement to carer's allowance and the awarding of credits for her second state pension.

Stephen Timms: The administration of the Pension Service is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Alexis Cleveland. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Frank Field, dated 16 November 2005
	You asked the Secretary of State if the Retirement Pension Forecast team will supply Rachel Scully with a forecast which takes into account her underlying entitlement to carers allowance and the awarding of credits of her second state pensions. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of The Pension Service.
	I am pleased to advise you that a State Pension Forecast that takes into account her underlying entitlement to carers allowance and the award of credits for her state second pension was issued on 7th November 2005.

CABINET OFFICE

Consultants/Special Advisers

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) consultants and (b) special advisers were employed by his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of each was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Information relating to the number of consultants engaged by the Cabinet Office is not held centrally and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The total expenditure on the use of consultants since 1997 is shown in the table:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 5.53 
			 1998–99 8.09 
			 1999–2000 10.81 
			 2000–01 10.93 
			 2001–02 16.88 
			 2002–03 13.39 
			 2003–04 15.93 
			 2004–05 12.70 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures relating to financial years prior to 2001–02 include Centre for Management and Policy Studies, Regional Co-ordination Unit, Government Car and Despatch Agency and Central Office of Information.
	2. Figures from 2001–02 include 'core' Cabinet Office only.
	Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each payband. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 July 2005, Official Report, columns 158–61WS.
	Information on the numbers of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Sales

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he had with (a) the Department of Trade and Industry and (b) major supermarket chains about a possible link between the sale of alcohol in supermarkets and street crime.

Paul Goggins: No discussions have taken place on this topic, but Ministers recently met representatives from major supermarkets to discuss sales of alcohol as part of our wider efforts to promote responsible drinking.

Asylum/Immigration

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Afhram Hasen reference A1108602 will receive notification of his immigration status.

Tony McNulty: Mr. Hasen was notified of his immigration status on 27 October 2005.

Asylum/Immigration

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Joseph Grant reference G11116730 will receive notification of his immigration status following the letter of 15 September to the hon. Member for Banbury.

Tony McNulty: Mr. Grant was notified of his immigration status on 4 November 2005.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British passports have been processed for each of the British overseas territories (a) in 2005 to date and (b) in each of the last three years.

Andy Burnham: The information is as follows.
	(a) 4,916 British passports have been processed for each of the British overseas territories in 2005 to date.
	(b) 4,938 in 2002; 8,284 in 2003; 6,281 in 2004; and 4,916 to October 2005.

Carbon Management Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department will sign up to the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme.

Charles Clarke: The Department has no current plans to join the Carbon Trust CMP, it will be considered as further work on energy efficiency and climate change impacts, in response to the estate management targets of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate, is taken forward.
	The Energy White Paper and the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate set targets for central Government Estate of reducing absolute carbon, from fuel and electricity used in buildings on our estate, by 12.5 percent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000 and increasing energy efficiency of the buildings on the estate by 15 percent. over the same period. In order to address these targets the Department is benchmarking key office sites, after which we propose to undertake energy surveys at those sites above the benchmark, and thereafter will compile site-specific action plans. The public sector Prison Service has an Energy Efficiency Action Plan. A benchmarking guide has been developed and the data used to help set carbon dioxide key performance indicators for each prison.

Central European Time

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of the United Kingdom moving to Central European Time; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	There are many arguments—and opinions—for and against a move to Central European Time. Any change would need to have full regard to a wide range of factors including the impact on social and community life, transport links with other countries, health and safety issues, such as road traffic accidents, and the views of the business community and other stakeholders. However, I do not believe there is a clear case for change.

Missing Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in establishing a nationwide child rescue alert scheme to promote early notification of missing children.

Paul Goggins: The scheme operates in five forces. Engagement with other forces through the national centre for policing excellence indicates a wider interest in the scheme, with expectation of further significant take up by spring next year.

Farj Hassan Faraj

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he was informed by the Italian authorities of the relevant deadlines relating to the extradition request of Farj Hassan Faraj;
	(2)  when his Department first informed Farj Hassan Faraj that he was subject to an extradition request by the Italian authorities;
	(3)  what reasons the Italian authorities gave the Department for withdrawing their request to extradite Farj Hassan Faraj to Italy;
	(4)  when Farj Hassan Faraj was released from detention.

Andy Burnham: Farj Hassan Faraj was first informed that he was the subject of an extradition request from Italy on 24 July 2003, when he was arrested on a warrant issued pursuant to that request.
	In 2004 the Italian constitutional court ruled that domestic time limits on pre-trial custody applied to people in custody outside Italy for whom a request for extradition had been made. This time limit would not however have applied in Faraj's case had he been notified by the relevant UK authorities of the completion of a pre-trial investigation on him in Italy. The Italian authorities requested on eight April 2003 that such notification be given urgently.
	They did not specify a deadline. Unfortunately, although an earlier request for the transmission of evidence was acted on immediately, the notification was, by oversight, not made to Faraj. The fact, and significance, of this omission were not appreciated at the time.
	The UK authorities were first alerted by the Italian authorities to the implications of the constitutional court's ruling on custody time limits for the Faraj case in October 2005, and notification was then immediately given. On 10 October the Italian authorities withdrew their extradition request, stating that the order for pre-trial custody in prison had been revoked following the dismissal of proceedings. Faraj remains in immigration detention in the UK, pending further consideration of his immigration position.

Feltham Young Offenders Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total complement of permanent staff is in Feltham Young Offenders Institution; broken down by (a) juvenile and (b) young offender sections how many are employed; and how many are on long-term sick leave.

Fiona Mactaggart: Staffing levels at Feltham are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Target staff number Staff in post Staff on long-term sick leave 
		
		
			 Juvenile area 91 88 3 
			 Young offender area 159 151 4 
			 Other areas 588 548.42 13 
			 Total 838 787.42 20

Forensic Science Service

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effect of the work structuring project undertaken by the Forensic Science Service in response to the 7th Report of the Public Accounts Committee of 1999.

Andy Burnham: The Forensic Science Service (FSS) piloted the principles of work structuring in 2002 and subsequently adopted a more comprehensive programme of work early in 2005. Work structuring focuses on the key importance of staff and their positioning in terms of work organisation. Strategies, structures and systems are assessed and redesigned to support staff.
	The effects of the work structuring project are measured in terms of business performance, staff motivation and morale. The work is currently in progress and it is expected that the realisation of the benefits identified will be spread within a two to three-year time period.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the role of biometric identifiers is in the solutions being considered for remote authentication for the proposed identity card scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: At present, the identity cards scheme is looking at various alternatives that allow the implementation of secure remote authentication including use of one-time password technology. We are defining requirements which aim to evaluate the generation of one-time passwords via the use of both personal identification numbers (PINs) and biometrics in combination with an ID card and bidders will be invited to propose solutions meeting these requirements during the procurement stage.

Identity Cards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what preparations have been made to recruit staff in anticipation of the introduction of identity cards.

Andy Burnham: The Home Office has undertaken planning and preparatory work to define an organisational structure, to define and agree the senior management roles within that structure and to define a remuneration structure for the chief executive officer. Work on recruitment of operational staff to administer the scheme will need to be informed by the procurement stage which will not commence before Royal Assent of the Identity Cards Bill.

Identity Cards

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the identity card authentication pilot study undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau and referred to on page 150 of the 2005 departmental report.

Andy Burnham: In response to the themes identified by the Bichard inquiry, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) embarked on a pilot exercise to explore and investigate the benefits and costs of facilitating the provision of an on-line identity authentication service to authenticate the identity of disclosure applicants.
	To that end, in July 2004 the CRB posted a Government Opportunities Notice seeking expressions of interest from suppliers of on-line identity authentication services to take part in a three-month pilot to trial products, at the supplier's own cost, with CRB registered bodies. Following the application of a basic sift criteria the following suppliers were invited to take part in the pilot: BT, Call-credit, Equifax and Experian. The pilot involved each supplier providing his or her product directly to a registered body. No charge was made to CRB or the participating registered bodies for the use of the products deployed at the registered bodies. Importantly, the on-line authentication check did not replace the current CRB authentication rules—the check was conducted alongside the normal paper-based checks.
	Each pilot ran for a period of 12 weeks, the start date largely dependent on the sector in which the body operated. Registered bodies held the responsibility for obtaining the applicants consent for the pilot, obtained through a 'Consent Statement' specifically developed by the CRB for the pilot exercise. The general view of registered bodies participating in the pilot was that, while they could see the benefits of deploying similar systems in support of the identity authentication process for disclosure applicants, the type of system trialled whereby electronic authentication is required did not in its present form add any significant benefit to the current authentication process.
	It is important to note that the products deployed by the four pilot suppliers were 'off the shelf' for the purposes of the pilot although each supplier was keen to stress that bespoke solutions are available. Following the successful conclusion of the pilot exercise, the pilot report conclusions and the wider identity-related developments in government and commerce are currently under consideration by the CRB Management Board.

Licensing Act 1964

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under (i) section 172, (ii) section 172A and (iii) section 173 of the Licensing Act 1964 in each year since 1997, broken down by (A) petty sessional division area and (B) police authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Statistics from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database on the number of people prosecuted and convicted under sections 172, 172A and 173 of the Licensing Act 1964, England and Wales, 1997–2003 are contained in the tables, broken down by police force area and petty sessional area a copy will be placed in the Library. Statistics for 2004 will be available later this month.
	The offence of selling alcohol to a drunken person under s172(3) of the LA 1964 was added to the penalty notice for disorder scheme from 4 April this year. This enables the police to issue persons who commit this offence with an on the spot penalty of £80. Provisional data for 2004 from January to August show that 11 penalty notices were issued for this offence.

Nottinghamshire Police

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects (a) to receive and (b) to publish HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's report into Nottinghamshire police's response to serious and violent crime.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 14 July 2005
	I received Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary's report on 6 July 2005. The report was published on 20 September 2005 and is available on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Religiously Offensive Material

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recently introduced legislation in dealing with religiously offensive material; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 20 October 2005
	The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 extended the nine racially-aggravated offences introduced in sections 29–32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to include religiously aggravated conduct. These offences, which include assault, criminal damage and harassment, make available to the courts higher maximum penalties where the offender demonstrates, or the offence is wholly or partly motivated by, hostility towards the victim based on the victim's membership or presumed membership of a religious group.
	According to figures published by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in January 2005, 49 cases of religiously aggravated crimes were finalised during 2003–04. Because the new offences have only relatively recently come into force it is not yet possible to identify a trend or fully evaluate their impact.

Sex Crimes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list organisations which have received funding from his Department to help individuals who claim to have been falsely accused of sexual crime; and how much each organisation received in the last five years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office has not provided any funding to organisations helping those who claim to have been falsely accused of sexual crime in the last five years. The Office for Criminal Justice Reform does provide funding for the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
	People who believe they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced and who have exhausted all the normal review procedures can ask the CCRC to review their case. The CCRC can refer the case back to the appropriate appeal court if they conclude that there was a real possibility that the conviction or sentence would be overturned.

Sex Crimes

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding sentencing of sexual offenders.

Paul Goggins: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 overhauled the law regarding sex offences. The Act followed a fundamental review of the legislation and a major public consultation. The consultation document, Setting the Boundaries", made a wide range of recommendations that were considered carefully in the light of over 700 responses received during the public consultation period. I also receive correspondence from Members of Parliament and the public regarding the sentencing of sexual offenders in relation to specific cases.

Sex Industry

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many women he estimates to be working illegally in the sex industry in (a) Brent, (b) London and (c) England; and what proportion of these women he estimates to have been illegally trafficked into the UK;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the number of women illegally trafficked into the UK each year; what assessment he has made of what happens to them thereafter; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The nature of illegal immigration and human trafficking means that these are often hidden crimes which makes it extremely difficult to measure the scale of the problem or the numbers involved. We do not hold any statistics on the number of women who are working illegally in the sex industry and the nature of both on and off-street prostitution makes the collecting of reliable information difficult and any data must be viewed with a degree of caution.
	There is a clear indication that brothels in London and other cities in the UK have an influx of foreign women. The Metropolitan police believes that 70 per cent. of the women involved in off street prostitution in London are now foreign nationals but it is not known how many of these are in the UK illegally. Taking effective action against people traffickers remains a high priority for this Government.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Anthrax Sales (Iraq)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council following the breach of the biological and toxic weapons convention caused by the sale of anthrax to Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We remain of the opinion that there is no case for reporting the United States to the UN Security Council as having been in breach of its obligations under the biological and toxin weapons convention.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 October 2005, Official Report, column 643W.

Azerbaijan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) transparency and (b) legitimacy of the recent elections in Azerbaijan.

Douglas Alexander: The Government accept the assessment of the International Election Observation Mission led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Their preliminary findings were released on 7 November. These found that the Azerbaijan parliamentary elections did not meet a number of OSCE and Council of Europe standards and commitments for democratic elections, suggesting that the elections were not free or fair. The UK, holding the Presidency of the European Union (EU), issued a statement on 7 November in response to the preliminary findings. A further EU statement was issued in the OSCE Permanent Council on 10 November. Both statements can be found on the Presidency website at www.eu2005.gov.uk.

Burundi

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the recent government elections in Burundi were free and fair; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: As Presidency of the European Union (EU), the UK issued statements on 8 July and 23 August on the conduct of parliamentary and presidential elections in Burundi. We stated that we shared the assessment of the EU's Election Observation Mission that, despite some minor irregularities and allegations of fraud, the elections were generally in accordance with international standards.
	We further congratulated the Burundian people for their commitment to a stable and democratic future for their country and urged all parties to accept the results of these elections and to work together towards building a peaceful and prosperous Burundi.

China

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met non-governmental organisations working on human rights in (a) China and (b) Tibet.

Ian Pearson: Ministers regularly hold meetings with non- governmental organisations interested in human rights in China, including Tibet. Recent such meetings have included one in May 2004 between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Ms Joanna Lumley and Ms Kate Saunders about human rights in Tibet. I have met the Free Tibet Campaign twice, once in June 2005 and once this month.

Ethiopia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the recent elections in Ethiopia were free and fair.

Ian Pearson: In the period running up to the elections all parties were able to campaign relatively freely and were allowed some access to the state controlled media. The elections were generally well prepared and effectively conducted. The overall conduct of polling by the National Electoral Board was more transparent and efficient than ever before. However, the European Union Observer Mission (EUOM) and the Carter Centre have expressed concerns about the post election processes. We await the final report of the EUOM. Moreover, the United Kingdom, the European Union and others have protested about the violence and fatalities that occurred in the post-election period before all the results were confirmed.

Ethiopia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Ethiopia regarding the recent political unrest there.

Ian Pearson: We are gravely concerned about the outbreak of violence in Ethiopia since 1 November which has resulted in a number of deaths and injuries and a large number of detentions, including of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy leadership and civil society and media leaders.
	On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) spoke to Prime Minister Meles. This followed action by my noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham), who summoned the Ethiopian Charge" d'Affaires on 1 November to register our concerns. Our ambassador in Ethiopia has also raised our concerns with both Prime Minister Meles and with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister.
	In our capacity as presidency of the European Union, our ambassador to Ethiopia held a press conference in Addis Ababa with the United States ambassador on 6 November, where we called for the Government to restore peace and confidence in the democracy building process by ensuring due process of law and respect for human rights.

EU Enlargement (Illegal Trafficking)

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the prerequisites for countries to qualify for EU membership with respect to combating illegal trafficking routes.

Douglas Alexander: The criteria for membership of the EU were set out at the Copenhagen European Council in 1993.
	There is no specific requirement relating to combating illegal trafficking routes. But candidates need to transpose and implement European Community legislation including in the field of justice and home affairs into their national legislation.
	This, and increased co-operation between the relevant agencies in member states, makes a significant contribution to the EU's ability to combat illegal trafficking.

European Union (Opt-outs)

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many opt-outs the Government have given up at EU level since May 1997; and if he will list them.

Douglas Alexander: Since May 1997, the Government have only removed the UK opt-out" to the agreement on social policy. This was annexed by the treaty of Maastricht to the treaty establishing the European Community as part of the Protocol on Social Policy. The agreement was fully incorporated into the treaty establishing the European Community by the treaty of Amsterdam which came into force on 1 May 1999. The provisions on social policy as they stand today can be found in part 3, title XI of the treaty establishing the European Community.

Indonesia

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the treatment of Christians in Indonesia, with particular reference to the case of three Christian women who have each been jailed for three years for giving Christian teaching to Muslim children with their parents' consent.

Ian Pearson: We are aware of the conviction of Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun and the closure of some churches in Indonesia.
	In September this year, President Yudhoyono stressed that the state guaranteed every citizen religious freedom and called on the police and members of the public to act to prevent violence against any faith. We co-sponsored with the Indonesian Government in Bali in July, an international conference to promote inter-faith understanding and harmony. We will continue to co-operate with them on this important objective. Immediately after the recent beheadings of three Christian school girls in Central Sulawesi, President Yudhoyono condemned what he described as a sadistic crime", and sent extra police to the area to ensure that violence did not flare up. The British ambassador in Jakarta has discussed the issue with senior Indonesian officials and expressed the UK's shock at the incident.

Ivory Coast

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that the Ivory Coast is recruiting child soldiers from Liberia; and what representations he has made to the government of the Ivory Coast.

Ian Pearson: We are concerned by recent reports, in particular from Human Rights Watch, indicating that child soldiers from Liberia are again being recruited to Cote d'Ivoire. The UK, as EU Presidency, made representations to the National Transitional Government of Liberia in July concerning children in armed conflict. In addition, Belgium, as local EU presidency, expressed concerns on behalf of all member states about child soldiers to the Government of Cote d'Ivoire also in July. We continue to monitor the situation closely with EU colleagues and the wider international community.

Kurdistan

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) nature and (b) policy underlying UK involvement in ECJ case C0229/05, on certain Kurdistan political groups.

Kim Howells: European Court of Justice (ECJ) case C0229/05 involves a freeze on assets imposed by the European Community pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373 (2001). Effective implementation of UNSCR 1373 (2001) is apriority for the UK as a central component of the international community's efforts against terrorism. The UK fully supported the decision by the European Council to impose an asset freeze on certain Kurdish political groups and intervened in support of the European Council before the Court of First Instance. The action against the European Council was dismissed by that court. Although the UK has not intervened again in the appeal of the case to the ECJ, it continues to support fully the case put forward by the European Council.

Ministerial Travel

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the additional cost of (a) his and (b) his officials' early return from Moscow to permit him to vote in the proceedings in the Terrorism Bill.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 14 November 2005
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Moscow on 8 and 9 November for the EU-Russia Foreign Ministers' Troika. He attended this meeting as planned. The talks were constructive, continuing the positive dialogue from October's EU-Russia Summit.
	The Chinese President's State Visit took place on 8–9 November. Immediately before leaving for Moscow, the Foreign Secretary met Li Zhaoxing, the Chinese Foreign Minister, in London. The Foreign Secretary had planned to travel directly to Iraq from Moscow, and then to Bahrain for the annual G8 and Broader Middle East and North Africa Forum for the Future" meetings on 11 and 12 November.
	It would not have been possible to complete this schedule using commercial flights. We therefore chartered an aircraft. The total cost of the charter was £98,400, which included an additional £30,200 for diverting through the UK on 9 November. This also covered the travel costs of the staff accompanying the Foreign Secretary to Moscow, comprising six officials, plus one Special Adviser and one Special Branch Protection Officer.
	Paragraph 10.11 of the Ministerial Code states:
	if a Minister is abroad with permission and is called home for Ministerial Parliamentary reasons, including to vote, the cost of the extra journey back and forth may be met by public funds".

Ministerial Travel

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much it cost (a) him and (b) officials from his Department to fly to and from Russia for his recent visit;
	(2)  what the flight arrangements were for his recent visit to Russia;
	(3)  how many Government officials accompanied him on his recent visit to Russia.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff) today (UIN 28110).

Piracy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many reports of British citizens being victims of criminal incidents on the high seas (a) off the coast of Africa and (b) elsewhere have been received by his Department in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not collect this information. Consular cases are recorded by type e.g. death, hospitalisation, theft and so on, and by country. Cases are not recorded by circumstances such as occurring at sea.

Piracy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many incidents of piracy involving British citizens have been reported to his Department in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today (UIN 27556).

Piracy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department has issued on the risk of (a) piracy and (b) other crime at sea.

Ian Pearson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues 217 regularly updated country travel advice notices on its website. These are aimed at members of the public and include information on the risk of falling victim to crime in each country. Advice on the risk of piracy, including kidnapping, within a country's territorial waters is included where appropriate, as in the cases of Somalia, Malaysia and Singapore. Other types of crime (eg illegal fishing) which do not pose a risk to individual travellers are not included in the advice.
	The departmental lead on piracy on the high seas lies with the Department for Transport's Transport Security Division, which issues advice to commercial shipping on matters such as the risk of piracy.

Romania/Bulgaria (EU Membership)

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria need to meet to join the EU; what is his assessment of whether (i) Romania and (ii) Bulgaria are on track to meet these criteria; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: As agreed at the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, candidate countries need to meet the so-called 'Copenhagen criteria' before they can join the European Union. This means that they must have:
	stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;
	a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;
	the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.
	The European Commission is closely monitoring both countries' preparations. It published a Comprehensive Monitoring Report on 25 October this year in which it confirmed that both countries fulfil the political criteria for membership and are functioning market economies. But it emphasised that both countries need to urgently step up the implementation of reforms in the areas of Justice and Home Affairs, agriculture, the environment and administrative capacity. The Commission will continue to closely monitor their progress and will produce a follow-up report in spring next year. If it deems that either country is manifestly unprepared for membership, it can recommend to the Council that accession be delayed by one year to 2008.

Russia

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has held with the Russian Government regarding Russia's possible entry to the EU.

Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had no discussions with the Russian Federation regarding Russian entry into the European Union (EU). The Russian Federation currently has no plans to seek membership of the EU.

Senegal

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Senegal (a) bilaterally and (b) representing the EU under the UK presidency on the requests by Belgium for the extradition of Hissene Habre on charges of crimes against humanity; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The UK Government would carefully consider any formal request for support on this issue from the Belgian Government, but to date we have received none.

Somalia

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Somalia.

Ian Pearson: We continue to work closely with the UN and other members of the international community to achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement and a return to good governance in Somalia. We fully support the special representative of the UN Secretary General, Francois Fall, in his efforts to facilitate the peace process and encourage Somali-owned reconciliation initiatives.
	We remain deeply concerned by recent reports of military activities, violations of the UN arms embargo and hostile rhetoric between the rival factions. We totally condemn the assassination attempt on 6 November against the Transitional Federal Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi, and extend our condolences to the families of the victims. We believe that any use of force to settle the current differences within the Transitional Federal Institutions is unacceptable and counterproductive.
	We urge all the Somali factions to refrain from military activities and to take concrete steps to reach consensus through dialogue and quickly create the conditions in which humanitarian access can alleviate the suffering of large numbers of southern Somalis.

Somalia

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had about political developments in Somalia.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) met the Transitional Federal President of Somalia, Abullahi Yusuf, on 20 May, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative, Francois Fall, on 6 September and the Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hasan, on 2 October. Officials in London and Nairobi have also actively been urging representatives of the Somali factions to resolve their differences over the location of the Transitional Federal Government and the details of a security stabilisation plan for Somalia. We also discuss Somalia regularly in the UN Security Council and with our EU partners.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of a split in the ranks of the Sudan Liberation Army on the potential for peace in Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We are concerned about continued divisions within the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A). These divisions are fuelling insecurity on the ground and threaten to hinder the peace negotiations in Abuja. We and our international partners are pressing all factions within the SLM/A to unite and negotiate with one voice at the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, which are due to resume on 21 November.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on recent attacks on World Food Programme convoys near Nyala, Darfur;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of how much of Darfur is no longer accessible to non-governmental agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We are greatly concerned by attacks on humanitarian workers in Darfur. In recent weeks there have been a number of attacks on World Food Programme convoys in Southern Darfur. These attacks appear to have been carried out by bandits. Humanitarian operations are critical in supporting the civilians in Darfur, and any attacks on United Nations (UN) and non-governmental humanitarian agencies put their work in jeopardy and limits access to those who need assistance. At present, the UN reports that it is confident that all areas of Darfur are accessible by helicopter, and at least intermittently by road. They report that despite these serious incidents, humanitarian services to all areas are continuing.
	We make regular representations to all parties in the Darfur conflict and have made clear that the harassment, abduction and attacks on humanitarian workers in Darfur is unacceptable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. During his visit to Sudan on 58 October my noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham), met representatives from non-governmental organisations and UN agencies in Darfur to hear their views on the security situation which is hampering the humanitarian relief effort. He raised these issues strongly with the Sudanese Government, pressing the importance of improving the security situation and allowing aid workers to operate freely. The African Union Mission in Sudan, to which we are providing almost 32 million, is having a positive effect on security where it is deployed.

Tanzania

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Tanzania regarding the recent political unrest in Zanzibar.

Ian Pearson: We and the international community worked hard with President Mkapa, presidential candidate Kikwete, President Karume and all concerned, to encourage them to put their personal authority behind a process that would result in a free and fair election in Zanzibar on 30 October.
	My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) wrote to President Mkapa on 24 October setting out his concerns regarding reports of violence and intimidation on Zanzibar in the run-up to the elections. As presidency of the EU, the UK made representations to the Tanzanian Government, regarding the importance of peaceful, transparent and credible elections, on 17 and 26 October.
	My hon. Friend the former Minister for Africa (Mr. Mullin), went to Zanzibar to observe the election as a special envoy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He met presidential candidate Kikwete on 1 November and discussed the importance of addressing the deeply polarised nature of Zanzibari politics.

Tanzania

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Tanzania regarding its support for President Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe.

Ian Pearson: In the wake of Operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe, our high commissioner in Dar es Salaam raised Zimbabwe with ambassador Mulamula at the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 July 2005. My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham), also discussed Zimbabwe with Jakaya Kikwete, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, on 30 June. More recently, the United Kingdom's permanent representative to the United Nations discussed the situation in Zimbabwe with other United Nations Security Council members, including Tanzania, on 4 October. We intend to continue these discussions until the Government of Zimbabwe addresses the United Nations Secretary General's concerns.
	Ministers and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials take every opportunity to discuss with African Governments, including Tanzania, the political situation in Zimbabwe and other issues that affect the region. On 1 November, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear to the House that we would continue to urge Southern African nations to put strong pressure on the Mugabe regime (Official Report, columns 71819).

Thailand

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent political unrest in the Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces of Thailand.

Ian Pearson: We remain concerned by the continuing violence in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and remain in close contact with the Royal Thai Government.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed the situation in the south of Thailand with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, in London last month.

UK Expatriates (Spain)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Spain about the costs of providing healthcare to UK expatriates; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with his Spanish counterpart on this subject.
	The Spanish Government have not raised it with us at ministerial level, or in the European Union.

United States (Prince of Wales's Visit)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2005, Official Report, column 636W, on HRH Prince of Wales (US visit), what the (a) job title and (b) grade was of each of the (i) junior staff from the embassy in Washington who accompanied HRH the Prince of Wales and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall throughout their recent visit to the US and (ii) staff based in (A) New York and (B) San Francisco who accompanied their Royal Highnesses.

Jack Straw: holding answer 14 November 2005
	In addition to the ambassador, the following members of staff from the British embassy in Washington accompanied the Royal party during their visit to the US:
	1st Secretary Political, Grade D6, who accompanied in New York, Washington DC, New Orleans and San Francisco.
	1st Secretary/ Press Secretary, Grade D6, who accompanied in New York, Washington DC, and New Orleans.
	Locally Engaged Press Adviser, Grade US 9, who accompanied in New York, Washington DC, New Orleans and San Francisco.
	Locally Engaged Publications Officer, Grade US 5, who accompanied in Washington DC and San Francisco.
	In New York, the Consul General, Grade SMS 3, Deputy Consul General, Grade SMS 1, and the Visits Officer, Grade US 6 accompanied the Royal Party. In San Francisco, they were accompanied by the Consul General, Grade SMS 1 and the Visits Officer, Grade US 5.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

House Building (Barnet)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on house-building and development in the London borough of Barnet.

Yvette Cooper: Barnet aims to provide a minimum of 890 new homes per year, which was exceeded in 200405. Barnet is an opportunity borough with great potential to deliver more. There are proposals in the London plan housing alteration to increase this to 1,960 homes per year. This will help meet housing need and deliver sustainable communities in London. Between 2000 and 2003 92 percent. of new homes in Barnet were built on brown field land.

House Building (Barnet)

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment has been made of the additional infrastructure that will be required to support extra house-building in Taunton Deane.

Yvette Cooper: The need for future housing and infra-structure in Taunton Deane is currently being considered as part of the review of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) being undertaken by the South West Regional Assembly. The draft RSS will be submitted to the Secretary of State in March 2006.
	The Government are strongly committed to the principle that infrastructure (including public services) must be sufficient to support growth.

House Building (Barnet)

Nick Herbert: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the infrastructure improvements required to meet his house-building targets in the South East.

Yvette Cooper: Government recognises the critical links between infrastructure and growth and is committed to exploring the infrastructure needs of the region as the South East Regional Planning process progresses.

House Building (Barnet)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will link new house-building targets to improvements in infrastructure.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are strongly committed to the principle that infrastructure must be sufficient to support growththat is an essential element in achieving sustainable communities. Our approach is to ensure that infrastructure, including public services, is provided in step with growth, as plans for individual growth locations are developed.

Housing Corporation Funding

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which private developers can bid for Housing Corporation funding previously reserved for social landlords.

Phil Woolas: Persons other than registered social landlords are now eligible to bid for social housing grant from the Housing Corporation under the Housing Act 2004. Housing associations and private companies are competing in the 200608 bidding round on as equal a basis as possible to provide the same products.
	The aim is to widen the whole competition for grant, bring forward more schemes and encourage more efficiency in provision and new partnerships, with no reduction in the quality of homes. That should mean better value for money for the taxpayer and more affordable homes to meet the serious shortage for those in housing need.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the level of consultation being undertaken in connection with regional spatial strategies.

Yvette Cooper: There is a statutory requirement for the Regional Planning Body to consult a wide range of stakeholders both while the draft revision of the Regional Spatial Strategy is being prepared and after publication. An independent examination in public of the draft, at which people will be invited to speak, is required in all but exceptional circumstances. The Secretary of State's proposed changes are then published with a further minimum eight week consultation period.

Damages

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the 10 largest amounts of damages paid out by his office in the last year for which figures are available, indicating in each case the nature of the claim.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not collect the information requested centrally and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.

Green Belt

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how much land changing to residential use was within (a) the designated green belt and (b) greenfield land, in each year since 1997, broken down by region;
	(2)  how much land within the 1997 designated green belt changed to developed use in each year since 1997, broken down by region;
	(3)  how many new dwellings have been built within the 1997 designated green belt in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

Yvette Cooper: The available estimates are from Land Use Change Statistics, shown in the following tables. The estimates for 2003 are provisional and are subject to revision. Figures are not shown for 1999 as the data received for that year were incomplete. Figures for 1997 to 2000 reflect planning policies and decisions made before 1997.
	
		Land changing to residential use within 1997 designated green belt (PQ 0484 05/06)
		
			 Hectares 
			  (a) All on designated green belt 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 3 3 1 2 7 1 0 2 3 
			 North West 51 46 39 60 59 64 43 49 53 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 25 27 21 40 42 28 41 50 46 
			 East Midlands 9 10 13 10 7 20 17 6 9 
			 West Midlands 24 27 29 33 31 38 31 56 35 
			   
			 East of England 40 50 41 37 49 58 68 36 46 
			 London 4 5 6 9 17 16 10 23 15 
			 South East 62 52 49 67 54 75 64 52 55 
			 South West 9 14 8 10 16 14 13 9 9 
			   
			 England 226 234 207 267 281 313 288 283 272 
			   
			 Proportion of all green belt (percentage) 0.014 0.014 0.013 0.016 0.017 0.019 0.017 0.017 0.016 
		
	
	
		Hectares
		
			  (b) On greenfield land (not previously developed) 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 2 2 1 2 7 1 0 1 2 
			 North West 26 17 27 36 29 23 17 20 25 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18 17 15 24 25 21 20 25 22 
			 East Midlands 6 6 4 4 4 6 12 3 6 
			 West Midlands 15 15 19 14 17 22 17 24 14 
			   
			 East of England 11 14 12 10 10 22 13 13 20 
			 London 1 2 0 0 7 6 3 8 4 
			 South East 18 10 12 28 19 28 14 17 13 
			 South West 3 9 4 6 10 7 4 5 2 
			   
			 England 101 93 94 123 127 135 99 115 109 
			   
			 Proportion of all green belt (percentage) 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.008 0.006 0.007 0.007 
		
	
	
		New dwellings within 1997 designated green belt (PQ 0486 05/06)
		
			 Hectares 
			  (c) All on designated green belt 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 52 23 22 50 140 19 11 27 70 
			 North West 879 771 730 1,284 1,049 1,350 799 1,019 1,565 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 373 423 316 630 673 508 891 939 815 
			 East Midlands 143 125 181 194 143 297 289 117 120 
			 West Midlands 390 533 474 610 507 731 817 879 653 
			   
			 East of England 552 580 499 479 846 956 1,181 485 795 
			 London 89 153 171 182 441 384 218 405 287 
			 South East 653 733 553 868 802 1,175 950 734 1,053 
			 South West 124 211 109 159 309 271 243 199 163 
			 England 3,255 3,552 3,055 4,456 4,910 5,691 5,399 4,804 5,521 
			   
			 Proportion of all new dwellings (percentage) 2 3 2 3 4 4 4 4 3 
		
	
	
		Hectares
		
			  (d) On greenfield land (not previously developed) 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 46 20 19 34 128 17 2 19 45 
			 North West 472 285 486 746 486 355 296 329 682 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 289 269 173 336 361 373 462 361 405 
			 East Midlands 93 77 67 93 77 39 148 39 65 
			 West Midlands 220 313 288 276 225 372 462 333 250 
			   
			 East of England 119 134 132 107 135 331 198 145 286 
			 London 56 67 6 3 238 131 72 127 79 
			 South East 172 117 147 301 218 278 134 194 322 
			 South West 53 135 46 93 195 90 32 76 34 
			   
			 England 1,520 1,417 1,364 1,989 2,063 1,986 1,806 1,623 2,168 
			   
			 Proportion of all new dwellings (percentage) 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 
		
	
	
		Land changing to developed use within 1997 designated green belt (PQ 0485 and 1296)
		
			 Hectares 
			  (a) All on designated green belt 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 43 20 11 143 18 47 13 21 18 
			 North West 331 329 367 488 401 223 367 142 222 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 253 283 182 481 437 164 131 286 285 
			 East Midlands 65 132 197 97 93 92 102 28 128 
			 West Midlands 173 210 286 130 125 328 155 129 335 
			   
			 East of England 172 183 159 196 238 273 319 169 339 
			 London 19 28 44 95 64 37 125 36 64 
			 South East 228 244 482 395 218 554 309 143 151 
			 South West 48 145 207 58 85 132 75 35 29 
			   
			 England 1,332 1,573 1,935 2,084 1,678 1,850 1,596 988 1,570 
			   
			 Proportion of all green belt (percentage) 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.13 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.06 0.10 
		
	
	
		Hectares
		
			  (b) On greenfield land (not previously developed) 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 North East 14 15 7 109 8 45 6 16 10 
			 North West 197 150 243 315 262 101 237 53 59 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 152 102 75 274 282 60 52 124 133 
			 East Midlands 46 60 160 61 74 70 58 13 60 
			 West Midlands 101 76 143 69 62 67 35 52 266 
			   
			 East of England 83 84 87 150 71 65 90 100 120 
			 London 12 14 19 48 25 14 42 10 31 
			 South East 112 103 104 204 69 389 90 40 57 
			 South West 28 92 160 42 53 91 45 14 8 
			   
			 England 746 696 999 1,273 904 902 656 421 744 
			   
			 Proportion of all green belt (percentage) 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.05

Local Government Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the time scale is for the announcement of the local authority rate support grant settlement for 200607; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government expect to announce their proposals for the 200607 local government finance settlement at around the end of November or beginning of Decemberin line with the usual settlement timetable.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place copies of (a) international comparative research by the London School of Economics and Cardiff University on local government finance, (b) public knowledge and attitudes research on local government finance by NOP World and (c) the wider literature review by the National Economic Research Association on local government finance commissioned by his Department in the Library.

Phil Woolas: The research to which the hon. Member refers has been undertaken for the Lyons inquiry into local government funding. We understand that the inquiry will publish results of this research later this autumn.
	Initial research by NOP World on public knowledge and attitudes in relation to local government finance was undertaken for the Balance of Funding Review and is available on the Department's website at http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/balance/rsg.htm.

London Development Agency

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total borrowing limit is for the London Development Agency.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	The London Development Agencyas a functional body of the Mayor of Londonis treated as a local authority for financial purposes, so any borrowing by the agency must be in accordance with the local authority prudential borrowing framework set out in the Local Government Act 2003. Under this legislation, the agency's maximum borrowing limit is set by the Mayor. If the agency wishes to borrow against its grant from the Government, it must also seek Government approval.

Markets

Hugo Swire: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations his Department has received about the proposed redevelopment of the old Smithfield Market.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has received a number of representations of which nine have requested he call in applications for planning permission and conservation area consent which were submitted to the Corporation of London in May 2004.
	If in due course the corporation are minded to grant planning permission the planning application will have to be formally referred to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister as a departure from the corporation's unitary development plan and under the 1993 shopping direction.

Public Service Agreements

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) benchmarks and (b) indicators the Government will use to assess their public service agreement target to improve (i) the effectiveness and efficiency of local government in delivery services by 2008 and (ii) the balance between housing availability and demand.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has published technical notes setting out the performance measures being used to assess progress against the ODPM's public service agreement targets adopted following the spending review in 2004. These can be found at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l122982.
	The technical note for local government effectiveness and efficiency will be updated shortly to reflect the new comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) framework published by the Audit Commission on 14 October.

Regional Transport

Tom Brake: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the process by which regional transport funding is allocated by regional Government offices.

Karen Buck: I have been asked to reply.
	No regional transport funding is currently allocated by regional Government offices. However, in July we published details of regional funding allocations for transport, together with those for housing and economic development. The English regions outside London have been asked to submit advice to central Government by 31 January 2006 as to which schemes should be given priority for funding in their region. Government offices have been asked to facilitate this process.

Sex Offenders

Joan Walley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 340W on sex offenders, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on councillors' duties in relation to children's services where councillors are on the sex offenders register.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to introduce such guidance.
	An individual is disqualified from being a local councillor if he receives a conviction carrying a prison sentence of over three months (suspended or not) if convicted of an offence within five years before election. A fine, or conviction with a sentence of less than three months, is not sufficient to trigger a disqualification.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Learning Inspectorate

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost of the adult learning inspectorate in 200506 is.

Bill Rammell: The 200506 grant in aid budget for the adult learning inspectorate is 22.5 million from the Department for Education and Skills and 5.8 million from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Basic Skills Agency

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools have been awarded a quality mark by the Basic Skills Agency.

Bill Rammell: The latest figures as of 11 November are as follows:
	The number of primary schools in England with the Basic Skills Agency's quality mark was 3361. This means the proportion of primary schools with the quality mark is 18 percent., based on 18970 primary schools (including early years and special schools as they are eligible for the primary quality mark).
	The number of secondary schools in England with the BSA's quality mark is 245. This means the proportion of secondary schools with the quality mark is 6 percent., based on 3992 secondary schools.
	The number of primary schools in Wales with the Basic Skills Agency's quality mark as 1452. This means the proportion of primary schools with the quality mark is 88 percent., based on 1659 primary schools (including early years and special schools as they are eligible for the primary quality mark).
	The number of secondary schools in Wales with the BSA's quality mark is 213. This means the proportion of secondary schools with the quality mark is 80 per cent., based on 267 secondary schools.
	All schools in Wales are required to reach the quality mark standard by 31 March 2006 as part of the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales.

CAFCASS

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many (a) private and (b) public law cases remained unallocated in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on 13 July, or the nearest date for which figures are available.
	(2)  how many unallocated cases there were in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service at the end of each of the last four financial years.
	(3)  how many (a) public and (b) private law vacancies there are in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; and what the recruitment strategy is for the 200506 financial year.

Maria Eagle: These are matters for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the CAFCASS chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and copies of his replies have been placed in the House Library.

Children (Parental Access)

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what research her Department has undertaken of (a) contact between absent parents and their children and (b) the impact on children of supervised contact with absent parents;
	(2)  what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the work of contact centres in providing supervised contact between absent parents and their children.

Maria Eagle: The Government, through the research programmes of the Department of Constitutional Affairs, has commissioned a series of research projects on child contact. They are:
	1. Safety and Child Contact: an analysis of the role of child contact centres in the context of domestic violence and child welfare concerns by Aris, Harrison and Humphries, DCA 2002.
	2. Safety Contact Disputes in Court Volume 1 DCA 2003, Volume 2 DCA 2005 by Smart, Wade, May and Furniss.
	3. A profile of applicants and respondents in contact cases in Essex, by Trinder and colleagues, DCA 2005.
	Copies are available free of charge from the Research Unit, DCA, Selborne House, Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QW.

Citizenship

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of initial teacher training of teachers of citizenship; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Citizenship is a relatively new subject. Ofsted has been inspecting citizenship since 200304. Their inspections found that four of the seven courses prepare trainees very well to teach citizenship; the others are satisfactory and improving rapidly. The Ofsted reports, ITT for Teachers of citizenship 2003/04 and ITT for Teachers of Citizenship 2004/05, are both available in e-version on the Ofsted website.

Connexions

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget of Connexions has been in each year that it has been running; and what the budget of the pre-Connexions career service was in each year between 1992 and its replacement.

Maria Eagle: The budgets for Connexions and the careers service for each year since 199495 are as follows:
	
		 million
		
			  Careers service budget Connexions budget 
		
		
			 199495 176  
			 199596 194  
			 199697 201  
			 199798 206  
			 199899 214  
			 19992000 227  
			 200001 236  
			 200102 173 151 
			 200203 52 378 
			 200304  455 
			 200405  470 
			 200506  475 
		
	
	Connexions was introduced from April 2001 and replaced the careers service in April 2003. We do not hold information for the years prior to 199495.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Pupils

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research she has commissioned on academic achievements of deaf and hard of hearing pupils in (a) mainstream schools and (b) special schools and units in Hertfordshire.

Maria Eagle: It is for schools and local authorities to monitor the progress and attainment of children with special educational needs (SEN) for whom they have responsibility.
	We have not commissioned any research at local authority level into the attainment of children with different types of SEN in different educational settings. However, Ofsted is currently carrying out a study looking at how provision has changed over the past five years and how different types of provision affect outcomes for children with SEN. This report is scheduled to be published in summer 2006.

Education (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) full-time equivalent teaching posts there were in schools in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows the full-time equivalent number of teachers in maintained schools in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997.
	The number of full-time equivalent teaching posts in Tamworth is not collected centrally.
	
		Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools(11), special schools(12), and pupil referral units: Tamworth parliamentary constituency
		
			 Position as at January each year Full-time equivalent number of teaching staff 
		
		
			 1997 760 
			 1998 750 
			 1999 750 
			 2000 750 
			 2001 760 
			 2002 780 
			 2003 780 
			 2004 780 
			 2005 770 
		
	
	(11) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(12) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual School Census

Education (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places were available in each of the past 10 years in Tamworth constituency.

Beverley Hughes: Statistics have been collected by local authority area only since 1999 following the introduction of the National Childcare Strategy for England. We are unable to provide details of places by parliamentary constituency.
	The table details the stock of child care places in Staffordshire, each year since 1999.
	
		
			 As at March each year Stock of child care places 
		
		
			 1999 14,649 
			 2000 16,346 
			 2001 17,531 
			 2002 17,304 
			 2003 18,482 
			 2004 21,322 
			 2005 22,463

Failing Schools

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the schools which (a) are failing and (b) have been judged to be failing for more than three years; on what date each was first identified as failing; in which local education authority area each school is located; how many pupils attend each school; and what the pupil capacity is of each school.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Family Resolutions Project

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many parents have taken part in the Family Resolutions pilot project to date; and how many have accepted mediation services as part of the project;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the costs of running the Family Resolutions project in the next five years;
	(3)  how much the Government have spent on the Family Resolutions Pilot scheme; how many couples have entered the scheme; how many couples have completed full courses on the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the future of the scheme.

Maria Eagle: In total, there were 62 couples or 124 individual parents who participated in the pilot project, which ran for one year from September 2004 to September 2005, of whom 31 couples completed all elements of the project. It focussed on parents using facilitated group discussions, learning conflict management skills and developing their own solutions through the use of the parenting plans. The pilot project's components did not include mediation services, though a number of the participating couples might have received such services either prior to entering the project or subsequently.
	The Government have invested a total of 300,000 over two financial years (170,000 in 200405 and 130,000 in 200506) in the Family Resolutions Pilot Project. There is no ongoing financial commitment in respect of this, now-concluded, pilot project. The project is currently being evaluated. We expect to receive the evaluation report early next year, which will be published. We expect this report to inform the decision about whether to roll out the pilot project on a wider basis.

Graduation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students who gained university places through clearing went on to graduate between 2001 and 2005.

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of those who accepted university places through clearing dropped out in the last period for which figures are available; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for doing so.

Bill Rammell: The Department does not systematically collect information on the reasons for non-completion. The Department has, however, commissioned the Institute of Employment Research to investigate a sample of early leavers from between 1996/97 and 1998/99. It found that those entering through Clearing had a higher-than-average non-completion rate, and that the most commonly-cited reason was a mistaken choice of course.
	Source:
	Davies, R and Elias, P. (2003) Dropping out: a study of early levers from higher education, DfES Research Report 386.

Learners (Accidents)

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many accidents have been recorded as occurring to Learning and Skills Council funded learners in each year since 2001 broken down by (a) fatal, (b) major and (c) those requiring over three days' absence; and how many of those learners were (i) under and (ii) over 16 years of age at the time of the accident.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is accountable for ensuring that organisations with whom it contracts have effective arrangements in place for ensuring the health and safety of learners. Learner health and safety is a fundamental value of the LSC. The information requested is included in the following table. An age split under and over 16 is not available. The figures in the final row are for six months only, rather than for the whole year.
	
		Accidents recorded to LSC funded learners from 200105
		
			 Number of accidents 
			  (a) Fatal (b) Major (c) Over three days Total 
		
		
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 2 217 873 1092 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 5 198 858 1061 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 5 262 615 882 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005(13) 3 187 627 817 
			 1 April 2005 to 30 September 2005(13) 1 95 210 306 
		
	
	(13) These two rows refer to all learners. In previous years only work based learning accidents were recorded.

Departmental Staff (Literacy/Numeracy)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department has spent on literacy and numeracy teaching for departmental staff in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Within my Department, the prime responsibility for developing and coaching staff lies with line managers who are best placed to assess individual needs. Most learning takes place on the job and is supplemented by centrally provided basic skills development through the Department's internal learning and development unit.
	The Department has spent no money on literacy and numeracy teaching for departmental staff in the last five years as adult basic skills tuition is delivered at no charge to learners who are eligible for Learning and Skills Council funding.
	Since 2002, 7000 has been spent supporting the development of adult basic skills in the Department:
	2005: 5,500 on tailoring a basic skills programme to reflect the work of facilities management staff and evaluating the programme.
	200305: 500 on material to promote basic skills within the Department.
	200203: 1000 to train department staff to support learners with basic skills.
	We have no record of expenditure before 2002.
	In addition activities take place across the Department which incorporate elements of basic skills within them. It is not possible to separate these out or quantify costs.

Medical Students

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the average debt of a medical student upon qualification in each year since 199798.

Bill Rammell: Statistics on average student debt are available from the Department's periodic Student Income and Expenditure Surveys but these are not conducted annually and have to date not given medical student debt figures separately. However the forthcoming SIES, to be published early in the new year, will have figures for borrowings, savings and estimated debt for final year medical students for academic year 2004/05.

Medical Students

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether graduate medical students will be permitted to pay their tuition fees following qualification.

Bill Rammell: Graduates with an honours degree undertaking a second undergraduate degree in medicine, or other subjects, will not be entitled to fee loans or deferred fees when introduced in 2006/07. However, graduate medical students on four year fast track courses, who now comprise the majority of graduate medical students, do not pay tuition fee contributions except in their first year because the Department of Health pays the fees in years two to four. The Department of Health also pays the fees of undergraduate medical students, including those with a previous graduate qualification, in years five and six. Graduate medical students are in addition eligible for subsidised maintenance loans and Department of Health bursaries.

Missing Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have gone missing in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 146W, to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow).

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to ensure the public service agreement target to reduce the under-18 conception rate by 2010 is met.

Maria Eagle: The Government's 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy continues to make progress in meeting its target of a 50 per cent. reduction in under-18 conception rates by 2010. There has been a 9.8 per cent. decline in under-18 conceptions between 1998 (the baseline year for the strategy) and 2003 (the latest year for which data are available). There has been a 9.9 per cent. reduction in under-16 conceptions over the same period.
	The strategy includes a range of actions designed to reduce teenage conceptions and support teenage parents so that they achieve better health and education outcomes for them and their child(ren), including:
	Encouragement to delay sexual activity, including support to resist pressure to become sexually active;
	Improving access to and usage of condoms among sexually active young people, to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancies and STIs; and
	Support to help teenage mothers to: access pre- and post-natal services; engage in education, employment and training; and avoid social exclusion.
	In order to accelerate the current rate of reduction to meet the 50 per cent. reduction target by 2010, we have asked all areas to intensify delivery of their strategies to reach high rate neighbourhoods and young people at greatest risk of early pregnancy.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will assess progress on the public service agreement target to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training by two percentage points by 2010.

Maria Eagle: The statistics used to measure the target to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) are published annually by the Department for Education and Skills. Provisional data for the end of 2004 was published in June 2005 when it was estimated that 194,000 16 to 18-year-olds were NEET, 10 per cent. of the 16 to 18-year-old population. The first opportunity to assess the progress made since then will be when statistics for the end of 2005 are available. These are due to be published in June 2006.

School Work (Marking)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research has been conducted by her Department into possible links between the marking of school work and child self-esteem.

Jacqui Smith: My Department has not commissioned any research on the link between the marking of school work and child self-esteem.

Strategic Subjects

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  for what reason she has decided not to allocate the funding of 22 million for protecting strategic subjects to centres of excellence;
	(2)  for what reason she has decided to allocate the funding of 22 million for protecting strategic subjects to collaborative projects.

Bill Rammell: The legal responsibility for the distribution of grant between institutions rests with the relevant Funding Councils. The joint guidance they have issued in relation to the 22 million to be allocated to support vulnerable area and language studies of strategic importance indicates that they expect one or two centres to be supported in each area of study. Therefore only those institutions which can demonstrate excellence in meeting the criteria for the scheme are likely to receive support.

Sure Start

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been allocated for the evaluation of Sure Start; and when she expects to publish the results.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 15 November 2005
	A comprehensive national level evaluation of Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) is examining the implementation, cost-effectiveness and impact of Sure Start for children, families and communities. It also provides support to SSLPs on their local evaluations. The National Evaluation runs from 2001 to 2008 and will cost 20.3 million in total.
	To date, 10 reports from the national evaluation have been published and a further five will be published before the end of the year. The final report drawing together all the information from the evaluation will be published at the end of 2008.

Teachers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department has taken to persuade teachers who have left the profession to return.

Jacqui Smith: The Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA) commissions returners' courses to refresh and update returners' knowledge and skills. The TDA has funded over 300 courses between 2002 and 2005, with more than 6,000 places offered. Courses cover all aspects of the curriculum, assessment, classroom management, inclusion etc. as well a school placement to give participants a refresher of school life and to boost confidence. Every participant on a TDA-funded returners course is eligible for a training bursary of up to 150 per week (to a maximum of 1,500 for the duration of the course) and child care support.
	The advice and guidance service Returning to Teach holds details of almost 17,000 former teachers. When a person registers, they are sent a pack with information about courses, useful contact details and termly copies of return to teaching magazines.
	We have introduced a number of reforms to reduce teachers' work loads and to tackle the issues that concern them in the classroom, such as pupil behaviour. Teachers returning to the classroom will also benefit from improved pay.

Under-achievement

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the impact of the introduction of the 50 per cent. university admission target upon the educational performance of children from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Bill Rammell: It would be difficult to show a direct causal relationship between the target of making progress towards 50 per cent. of 18 to 30-year-olds having had experience of HE, and school age performance. But there is evidence that our strategy of transforming the aspirations of children in order to widen participation in HE is boosting performance. For example, participation in summer schools (and other university and school-based holiday programmes), visits to higher education institutions and discussion about life at university with higher education staff and student have all been found in independent evaluation to be associated with higher attainment at key stage 4.

Union Learning Fund

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes in funding to the Union Learning Fund are proposed as a result of Priorities for Success.

Phil Hope: There are no changes in funding to the Union Learning Fund proposed as result of Priorities for Success. This document published by the Learning and Skills Council sets out a two-year strategy for the planning and funding of the further education sector that that will allow thousands more young people and adults to gain qualifications and skills for the workplace.

University Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent (a) discussions and (b) correspondence she has had with universities on ensuring that the increased funding for teaching provided by the Government is not allocated elsewhere; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Government funding for teaching in higher education is allocated via the Higher Education Funding Council for England on a formula basis. Institutions receive this and their funding for research as block grant. The funding institutions will receive from HEFCE and student fees in the current spending review period to 200708 is sufficient to maintain the unit of student per funding in real terms, after many years of decline. It is for institutions to decide how best to spend this money, and we have no intention of micromanaging their budgets. It is more effective and less bureaucratic to judge institutions by the outcomes they achieve.

Youth Work Projects

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to ensure accountability of voluntary and community sector (VCS) run youth work projects under the new youth service inspection arrangements, with particular reference to (a) the registration of VCS units with the local authority, (b) training and qualification of personnel and (c) inspection.

Beverley Hughes: Voluntary and community organisations are important partners in delivering the outcomes we want to see for children and young people. We expect that local authorities will engage with their local voluntary and community sectors in line with guidance relating to the Children Act 2004. Whether or not a local authority chooses to operate a system of registration for voluntary sector organisations they are funding and the nature of any registration system, including how this covers the training and qualification of personnel, is a matter for local decision.
	Organisations in the voluntary and private sectors that work with children and young people need to work effectively with Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) which will come into force from April 2006.
	LSCBs will be responsible for establishing effective policies and procedures, based on national guidance, for checking the suitability of people applying for work with children and young people and ensuring that the children and young people's workforce is properly supervised, with any concerns acted on appropriately.
	On inspection, joint area reviews of children's services, by several inspectorates, assess how services contribute to outcomes for children and young people. They include assessing the contribution of local authority funded youth services, whether provided by public or voluntary and community sectors. A joint area review will take place in each local authority area between September 2005 and December 2008.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Arms Embargoes

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what considerations are taken into account by the Crown Prosecution Service when assessing whether sufficient evidence has been assembled in order to prosecute British citizens who breach arms embargoes and restrictions.

Mike O'Brien: Alleged breaches of arms embargoes are normally investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and referred to the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) for consideration for prosecution. RCPO was established as an independent Department on 18 April 2005.
	In determining whether an offence has been committed the RCPO prosecutor is governed by the Code for Crown Prosecutors issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in accordance with s.10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, The prosecutor has to determine whether the evidence is sufficient to give a realistic prospect of conviction and whether a prosecution would be in the public interest.

Body Identification

Jon Trickett: To ask the Solicitor-General what recent discussions he has had with pathologists, forensic scientists and the National Missing Persons Helpline on liaison they undertake in connection with identifying bodies of unknown people.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	None. Pathologists, forensic scientists and others assist the coroner in identifying bodies of unknown people and how that is done is a matter for the judgment of the individuals concerned.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Solicitor-General what proportion of new recruits to his Department do not have a Level 2 qualification in English and mathematics.

Mike O'Brien: I am answering this question on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO), and HM CPS Inspectorate (HMCPSI).
	The CPS undertakes a generally competence based approach to recruitment except where a qualification is a requirement of the post holder. Information on recruits who have a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department has only 26 posts which do not require Level 2 numeracy and literacy as a condition of entry. There is no central record of whether the incumbents of these 26 posts are qualified to Level 2 in English and mathematics.
	The Serious Fraud Office does not have a standard requirement for entry level qualifications beneath the SCS and has adopted a competence; based approach to selection. Candidates are required to provide evidence of core competencies. The level to which candidates need to demonstrate their competence varies according to the seniority of the post. For specialist posts there may be a requirement for a recognised financial or legal qualification.
	HMCPSI has no mandatory requirement for new recruits to have particular qualifications except in the case of legal inspectors where a legal qualification is required.
	RCPO requires applicants to meet a minimum standard of GCSE grade C in English and mathematics (or equivalent), Where applicants do not meet this requirement it is possible for them to sit a literacy and numeracy test in order to assess their competence.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of new recruits to his Department do not have a level 2 qualification in English and mathematics.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); the Office does not recruit staff directly.
	The Scottish Executive does not collect this information centrally. Where job applicants do not meet the Executive's current entry criteria, tests may sometimes be used to give candidates the opportunity to display an equivalent level of numeracy and literacy; this will be made clear in the memorandum to the job advert. Applicants who attain the required score in the test will then be assessed against the competencies required for the post.
	The DCA does not collect statistical data on the number of new recruits with level 2 qualifications. General recruitment asks for administration experience or the relevant qualifications (that is, five GCSEs, or equivalent, at grade C or above, including English) for administrative grades or 2 A levels (and English) for executive grades. Recruits can therefore be appointed on the basis of their experience or qualifications and no distinction is made between the two.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); the Office does not employ staff directly.
	The methods of assessment used by the Executive vary and are dependent on the type and level of skills required for the post. Numerical ability and verbal reasoning cognitive tests can be used to test numeracy and literacy skills respectively. Administrative selection tests, written in-tray and written policy exercises can be used to test both literacy and numeracy skills.
	The DCA carries out no formal assessment of literacy and numerical skills for new recruits. Certain posts at Executive grade, and above, involve written or IT tests for posts in a policy area, communications or IT. General recruitment seeks administration experience or the relevant qualifications (that is, five GCSEs, or equivalent, at grade C, or above, including English) for administrative grades; or 2 A levels (and English) for Executive grades.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on in-house training on (a) literacy and (b) numeracy (i) in total and (ii) per head, in each year since 2002.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); the Office does not employ staff directly.
	Staff have access to the full range of training available from their parent Departments but it is not possible to separately identify any costs incurred by staff on loan to the Office. The Scotland Office has not sent any staff on specific literacy or numeracy training courses, and thus has incurred no direct costs.
	However, the Office does encourage staff to attend training courses and on-the-job training relevant to their posts and identified in their performance development plans. Such training can include elements of literacy and numeracy training; central records of such training elements are not held.

Scottish Consolidated Fund

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what dates in (a) 200405 and (b) 200506 payments have been made by the UK Government (i) into the Scottish consolidated fund and (ii) to the Scottish Executive; how much was paid on each occasion; and what the (A) basis and (B) authorisation was for each payment.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office transfers funds from the UK Consolidated Fund to the Scottish Consolidated Fund (SCF) at regular intervals based on a monthly assessment of need. Such transfers by the Office are under the general authority of the Secretary of State set out in the Scotland Act 1998.
	These funds are then distributed from the SCF to the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, Crown Office etc. The Scotland Office does not make payments directly to the Scottish Executive.
	Transfers into the SCF were as follows:
	
		
			 Payment date Amount () 
		
		
			 200405  
			 1 April 2005 1,796,600,000 
			 4 May 2004 1,564,100,000 
			 1 June 2004 1,382,500,000 
			 29 June 2004 350,000,000 
			 1 July 2004 1,275,400,000 
			 2 August 2004 1,657,900,000 
			 1 September 2004 1,643,250,000 
			 1 October 2004 1,397,700,000 
			 1 November 2004 852,400,000 
			 1 December 2004 1,607,000,000 
			 16 December 2005 300,000,000 
			 4 January 2005 1,673,500,000 
			 1 February 2005 1,415,000,000 
			 1 March 2005 2,152,600,000 
			 Total 19,067,950,000 
			   
			 200506  
			 1 April 2005 1,956,300,000 
			 3 May 2005 1,770,250,000 
			 16 May 2005 50,000 
			 1 June 2005 1,674,900,000 
			 1 July 2005 1,534,700,000 
			 1 August 2005 1,882,700,000 
			 1 September 2005 1,499,800,000 
			 3 October 2005 1,876,600,000 
			 1 November 2005 829,400,000 
			 Total 13,024,700,000

Scottish Consolidated Fund

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much and what percentage of the Scottish block of the Scottish Consolidated Fund has been transferred to the Scottish Executive in 200506; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office transfers funds to the Scottish Consolidated Fund (SCF) on a monthly basis, from where it is distributed to various centrally funded bodies. The overall grant to the SCF is determined by the UK Parliament and Annexes 2, 3 and 4 of the Annual Report of the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland (Cm 6544) set out the grant payable to the SCF in 200304, 200405 and 200506 respectively. The allocation of the grant to the centrally funded bodies is a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

Labour Statistics

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland have been economically inactive in each year since 1997.

David Cairns: Since 1997, the number of people in Scotland classed as economically inactive has fallen by some 85,000 to 635,000. The following table shows the number of people in Scotland who have been economically inactive in each year since 1997.
	
		Labour force survey (four quarter averages)Scotland
		
			  Economic inactivity among the working-age population 
			 Date (June to May) Level Rate 
		
		
			 199697 720,000 23.0 
			 199798 708,000 22.7 
			 199899 707,000 22.7 
			 19992000 702,000 22.5 
			 200001 672,000 21.5 
			 200203 657,000 21.0 
			 200304 657,000 21.0 
			 200405 635,000 20.3 
		
	
	Source:
	ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis on 15 November 2005]

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees in his Department requested training to improve their (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills in each year since 2002.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); the Office does not employ staff directly.
	The Scottish Executive does not hold details of requests for training in literacy and numeracy. The Executive's Learning Strategy recognises the importance of continuous support to staff through training to improve their skills and qualifications reflecting the commitment set out in the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland.
	The DCA provides free training to staff in improving their literacy and numeracy. Staff are able, anonymously, to check their level of literacy and numeracy; where necessary, this process points individuals towards local training to meet their needs. A central record of those who avail themselves of the opportunity is not maintained.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to promote uptake of the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy amongst employees of his Department.

David Cairns: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on loan from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); the Office does not employ staff directly.
	The Scottish Executive Learning Strategy recognises the importance of continuous support to staff through training to improve their skills and qualifications reflecting the commitment set out in the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs has promoted the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy via presentations at regional and area boards; at annual Learning At Work Week events; in the workplace via their local training co-ordinators; in their regional training centres; and on their departmental intranet. They will be re-launching these tests to the newly-created Her Majesty's Court Service and the rest of the DCA shortly.

Scottish Parliament (Election)

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he plans to bring forward proposals to change the rules for the election to the Scottish Parliament that will take place in 2007; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Secretary of State for Scotland has no current plans to change the system for elections to the Scottish Parliament.
	He has, however, charged the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems, under the chairmanship of Sir John Arbuthnott, as part of its remit to examine the method of election to the Scottish Parliament. The Commission is due to report to the Secretary of State at the turn of the year.

UK Ambassador to the Holy See

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Foreign Office about the advertisement and recruiting procedure in relation to Scotland for the post of UK ambassador to the Holy See.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has had no discussions on this matter.

HEALTH

Health Outside Hospitals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the tender for the contract to run the consultation on the Health Outside Hospitals White Paper was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Liam Byrne: No tender notice was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) regarding the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say listening exercise because it was not required. The contract was awarded on behalf of the Department by the Central Office of Information (COI) to a company with whom they hold a framework agreement. COI framework agreements are awarded in compliance with the EU directive, including the requirement to place a notice in the OJEU inviting applicants. Contracts can then be awarded to the holders of such framework agreements without the need to advertise them separately in the OJEU.
	In this instance, the contract was awarded following a competitive tender among a number of agencies with whom COI holds framework agreements.

Accident and Emergency Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general hospitals offer 24 hour a day, seven days a week acute services in England; how many are planned to offer these services in 201011; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: There were 207 multi-specialty, consultant-led, 24-hour accident and emergency (AE) departments in England at the end of September 2005. Future location and provision of AE departments is a matter for local not central decision and there are no forecast of numbers for 201011 available. In planning local provision of AE services, health communities are expected to observe the general principle that all emergency and urgent care should be delivered where possible as close to home as is compatible with clinical safety.

Acute Hospitals

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute hospitals have provided consultant-led maternity facilities in each year since 1990.

Liam Byrne: This information is not collected centrally.
	The maternity records collected through the hospital episodes statistics system are usually identified only to trust level, rather than to any specific unit within the trust. Some trusts provide information regarding the staff group with lead responsibility for care for example, midwife-led or consultant-led, but this does not allow the identification of consultant-led units.

Alcohol-related Admissions

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many alcohol-related admissions there were to Hemel Hempstead hospital in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of attendances at accident and emergency departments run by West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust were alcohol-related in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Data for alcohol related admissions in Hemel Hempstead general hospital is not available centrally. Data are not collected at an individual hospital level. However, this data is available at trust level, we have therefore provided the relevant data for the West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust who provide services from several organisations, including Hemel Hempstead general hospital.
	This data is shown in the tables.
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes for selected providers where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected(14) alcohol related diseasesNHS Hospitals England, 199798 to 200304
		
			  Provider of Treatment 
			  RPW St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead NHS Trust RQL Mount Vernon and Watford Hospital RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
		
		
			 199798 76 95  
			 199899 72 72  
			 19992000 74 58  
			 200001   90 
			 200102   113 
			 200203   142 
			 200304   157 
		
	
	(14) Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol,
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease,
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	NHS Hospitals England, 199798 to 200304
	Notes:
	1. Finished admission episodes.
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient
	was in hospital.
	Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre
	
		Counts of finished admission episodes for selected providers of treatment(15) where there was a primary diagnosis code for selected alcohol related diseases(16) and counts of finished admission episodes for all diagnoses for selected methods of admission(17)
		
			  Finished admission episodes (alcohol related, selected methods of emergency admissions) Finished admission episodes (selected methods of emergency admissions) Alcohol related finished admission episodes (percentage) 
		
		
			 19992000 86 16,255 0.5% 
			 200001 65 15,270 0.4% 
			 200102 101 17,460 0.6% 
			 200203 120 17,512 0.7% 
			 200304 118 18,255 0.6% 
		
	
	(15) Selected providers of treatment:
	19992000 counts include RPW St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead NHS Trust and RQL Mount Vernon and Watford hospital 200001 to 200304 counts include RWG West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
	(16) Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis:
	F10: Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol;
	K70: Alcoholic liver disease
	T51: Toxic effect of alcohol
	(17) Selected methods of admission:
	Emergency (via A  E services including the casualty department of the provider).
	Emergency (other means, including patients who arrive via A  E department of another health care provider).
	NHS Hospitals, England 19992000 to 200304
	Notes:
	Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the
	number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

BCG Vaccination

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 165W, on BCG vaccinations, what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts to make information available to parents of children who will no longer receive routine BCG vaccinations on what action they should take should they (a) move from a low risk area to a high risk area and (b) undertake an activity which increases the risk of being exposed to TB.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 8 November 2005
	Further to the Chief Medical Officer's letter of 6 July announcing changes to the Bacille Calmette Guerin programme, operational guidance was sent to primary care immunisation co-ordinators on 18 August. A copy is on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/Tuberculosis/fs/en

Cancer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to develop wards specifically for young cancer patients.

Rosie Winterton: In October 2004, we published the national service framework for children, young people which recommended the importance of providing children and young people with access to high quality, age appropriate services whatever the setting.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published in August 2005 guidance on Improving Outcomes in Children and Young People with Cancer. This guidance addresses access to age appropriate facilities and places of care. The National Cancer Director has established an advisory group of major stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the guidance, but ultimately it will be for local commissioners, via their cancer networks and local service providers, to ensure that the services they provide meet the recommendations in this guidance.

Carbon Monoxide

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (b) Ofgem, (c) the Health and Safety Commission and (d) CORGI with regards to the proposal from the Health and Safety Commission for a levy on the gas industry to fund a watchdog to promote carbon monoxide awareness; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Officials in the Department are in regular contact with officials in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). These contacts ensure that there is a shared understanding of the effects of carbon monoxide on health. Strategies for reducing cases of accidental poisoning are discussed regularly. The Chief Medical Officer often draws attention to the dangers of exposure to carbon monoxide in his CMO update letter to doctors. A leaflet, for distribution to all General Practices will be distributed in November. The leaflet has been endorsed by HSE, The Solid Fuel Association, CORGI, CO-Gas Safety and the Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister assisted in the drafting of the leaflet. The leaflet is entitled Carbon Monoxide: Risks to health and how to avoid them.
	The combined emphasis on prevention of poisoning and recognition of poisoning reflects the cross-department approach to this important problem. The Department has not discussed the proposal for a levy on the gas industry to fund a watchdog to promote carbon monoxide awareness; this is a matter for the HSE.

Cochlear Implants

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) children and (b) adults are awaiting cochlear implants in each region of England; what projections have been made for the number of cochlear implant treatments over the next five years; what resources have been allocated to this; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what guidance has been given to primary care trusts in relation to the allocation of resources for cochlear implantation treatment;
	(3)  how many (a) children and (b) adults were provided with cochlear implants in each region of England in the last five years.

Liam Byrne: Information on the numbers of people waiting for cochlear implants and the projected demand is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts to determine the allocation of resources for their local population based on local need.
	The number of children and adults who were provided with cochlear implants in each region of England is shown in the table.
	
		All Operations Count of Episodes (OPCS4 D24.1, D24.2) Implantation of intra/extra cochlear prosthesisNHS Hospitals, England 19992000 to 200304
		
			  19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 
			 Region of Treatment Children (Aged up to 17) Adults (Aged 18 and over) Children (Aged up to 17) Adults (Aged 18 and over) Children (Aged up to 17) Adults (Aged 18 and over) Children (Aged up to 17) Adults (Aged 18 and over) Children (Aged up to 17) Adults (Aged 18 and over) 
		
		
			 Northern and Yorkshire Regional 29 17 31 22 22 33 20 39 35 21 
			 Trent Regional Office 39 9 41 10 42 10 41 13 43 11 
			 West Midlands Regional Office 21 24 17 20 19 28 18 27 23 25 
			 North West Regional Office 24 18 24 24 31 33 44 26 45 18 
			 Eastern Regional Office 9 14 18 22 18 11 15 14 20 35 
			 London Regional Office 39 33 42 42 36 41 44 47 54 60 
			 South East Regional Office 16 11 18 21 26 17 22 11 24 19 
			 South West Regional Office 6 16 8 10 10 13 10 11 8 20 
		
	
	Notes:
	All Operations count of Episodes.
	These figures represent a count of all FCE's where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 (4 prior to 200203) operation fields in a HES record.
	A record is only included once in each count, even if an operation is mentioned in more than one operation field of the record.
	Finished Consultant Episode (FCE).
	An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year
	Main Operation
	The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode.
	It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, eg. time waited, but the figures for all operations count of episodes give a more complete count of episodes with an operation.
	Secondary Procedure
	As well as the main operative procedure, there are up to 11 (3 prior to 200203) secondary operation fields in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) that show secondary or additional procedures performed on the patient during the episode of care
	Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed)
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Equal Pay Claims

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been of equal pay claims in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS trust.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 November 2005
	Information about the cost of equal pay claims and associated legal costs is not available centrally.

Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria she used to assess the suitability of the candidates before she appointed (a) the chairman and (b) the non-executive directors of the West Gloucestershire primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: The Secretary of State has delegated the responsibility for the appointment of chairs and members of primary care trusts to the NHS Appointments Commission, of which the Chair is Sir William Wells.

Community Hospitals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to monitor the number of intermediate care bed places in the community hospitals sector.

Liam Byrne: Data on the number of intermediate care beds, the number of places in non-residential intermediate care schemes and the number of people using intermediate care are collected. There are no plans to expand the collection.

Contraception

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on free contraception for women in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		The amount spent by the NHS on free contraception for women since 1997
		
			  million 
			 Financial years Cost of condoms(18) distributed by the NHS Cost of items(19) prescribed by GPs Cost of items(20) distributed by family planning clinics Total estimate 
		
		
			 199798  42   
			 199899  43   
			 19992000  45   
			 200001  48   
			 200102  50   
			 200203 4 54   
			 200304 4 59   
			 200405 4 64 20 88 
		
	
	(18) This is based on figures from the NHS Logistics Authority and an estimate of further spend by the NHS (for men and women).
	(19) Data from the Prescription Pricing Authority for prescriptions dispensed in the community based on net ingredient costs.
	(20) This is estimated using the 200405 NHS contraceptive services data and costs from the Monthly Index of Medical Specialities (MIMS) October 2005

Dacorum Primary Care Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her latest estimate is of the outturn against planned expenditure in 200506 of Dacorum Primary Care Trust;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the financial position of the Dacorum Primary Care Trust.

Rosie Winterton: The latest financial year for which the audited financial information of all national health service organisations (strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts) is available is 200405. A copy of this information is available in the Library. It is also available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/FreedomOfInformation/ClassesOfInformation/fs/en.
	The final position for Dacorum Primary Care Trust for 200405 is an overspend against their revenue resource limit of 4.8 million.

Fibromyalgia

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much the Government spent on treatment for fibromyalgia in 200405; and what the estimate is for 200506.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 November 2005
	Data on the incidence of, and expenditure on treatment for, fibromyalgia is not available.

Fluoride

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether there is a link between fluoride and bone cancer; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The systematic review of water fluoridation published by the University of York in year 2000 found no evidence of an association between water fluoridation and bone cancer. We are however aware that, on 6 June 2005, a research organisation in the United States of America, the environmental working group, published a press release asking the national toxicology program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to list fluoride in tap water in its report on carcinogens. The request was based on the findings of a doctoral thesis completed in 2001 by a student at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. We have been informed by the oral health division of the Centers for Disease Control that the author of the thesis has invited them to review her findings as part of the peer review process conducted before a research study is published. We have asked to be kept informed.

Food Standards Agency

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she intends to accept the advice to Ministers agreed by the Board of the Food Standards Agency at their board meeting on 15 September in relation to their objectives for the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamin and mineral supplements under the provisions of the food supplements directive; what her strategy is for achieving her objectives in relation to this legislation; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 17 October 2005
	The Chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has written to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health setting out the FSA's advice. Ministers will consider this advice, and a strategy will be developed following any decisions.

Healthcare

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to (a) upgrade Clacton Hospital and (b) improve local health care provision in Clacton and Holland-on-Sea.

Rosie Winterton: This Government have no plans to upgrade Clacton hospital, as the responsibility for configuration and delivery of local services is a matter for the local national health service, working in partnership with its local community.

Healthcare

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the merits of contestability in the provision of healthcare in Hertfordshire.

Rosie Winterton: The introduction of greater contestability across the national health service is all about giving patients faster access, increased choice, improved services, or better value for money for the taxpayer by raising productivity and innovation.
	Decisions about the levels of independent sector involvement in the Hertfordshire area have been made on the basis of local capacity planning and the need to increase patient choice.

Herceptin

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will take steps to make additional funding available to primary care trusts to enable them to fund the prescription of Herceptin for early stage breast cancer patients who have been diagnosed as likely to benefit from the drug before it officially receives a licence for early stage use;
	(2)  if she will review the funding available to primary care trusts for the prescription of herceptin for the treatment of (a) susceptible early stage breast cancer patients whose consultants are willing to take responsibility for the treatment and (b) susceptible advanced stage breast cancer patients.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 October 2005
	The cost of herceptin will need to be met from the existing settlement agreed with the national health service. We understood that some trusts are already under financial pressures and may have to make difficult decisions in achieving this. However, we have greatly increased NHS funding and trusts with deficits have financial recovery plans in place.
	The re-negotiation of the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme in January resulted in a seven per cent. reduction in the prices of medicines. This will deliver savings of around 2 billion in the NHS over the next five years. The price of herceptin remains unchanged but savings are being delivered by reductions in other products.
	The Secretary of State has asked Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, to work with the NHS to ensure HER2 testing arrangements are put in place as soon as possible, so that patients who may benefit from herceptin can be identified.

Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire NHS Ambulance Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to re-structure the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire NHS Ambulance Trust.

Rosie Winterton: The Department published the outcome of a strategic review of national health service ambulance services on 30 June 2005, 'Taking Healthcare to the Patient: Transforming NHS Ambulance Services'. The review, led by the National Ambulance Adviser, supported by a group of stakeholders, sets out how ambulance services can be transformed from a service focusing primarily on resuscitation, trauma and acute care towards becoming a mobile health resource for the whole NHStaking healthcare to the patient in the community.
	In order to realise the vision and the benefits of 'Taking Healthcare to the Patient: Transforming NHS Ambulance Services', ambulance trusts need to be of a size that enables appropriate investment in people and resources to underpin current and future services and enable the vision set out in the ambulance review to be delivered. We are therefore proposing that there should be fewer, bigger ambulance trusts and will be undertaking public consultation on these proposals this winter. These proposals, if implemented, would ensure resources are targeted to where they are most neededimproving patient care and supporting front-line services.

Hospital Care

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to improve the level of care in hospitals on (a) geriatric and (b) accident and emergency wards.

Liam Byrne: The older people's national service framework (NSF) sets out the steps the Department is taking to improve the level of care in and outside hospital for older people. The next steps programme of the NSF is looking specifically at improving the dignity and privacy of older patients.
	Care in accident and emergency (A and E) has been transformed over the last three years. In 200203 almost one in four patients spent over four hours in A and E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Well over 19 out of 20 are now in and out within four hours and the majority within two hours of arrival.

Influenza

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are eligible for a free influenza vaccination.

Caroline Flint: There are an estimated 11 million people in the clinical target groups eligible to receive free flu vaccination. These groups are given in the Chief Medical Officer's letter to general practitioners dated 25 July.

Influenza

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances persons under the age of 65 years are given influenza vaccinations; whether they are available to anyone under the age of 65 years who requests them; what obligations general practitioners' surgeries are under to administer such vaccinations; and what information and guidance has been disseminated by her Department to surgeries in this respect.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 8 November 2005
	Influenza vaccine is available for anyone aged over six months in one of the following risk categories:
	Chronic respiratory disease, including asthma
	Chronic heart disease
	Chronic renal disease
	Chronic liver disease
	Diabetes
	Immunosuppression
	Details of this year's influenza immunisation programme were issued to general practitioners on 25 July.
	The final decision as to who should be offered flu immunisation is a matter for the patients general practitioner but should take into account the risk of influenza infection exacerbating the underlying disease as well as the risk of serious illness from influenza.
	Under the new general practitioner (GP) contract introduced in 2004, influenza vaccination became a directed enhanced service (DES). Primary care trusts commission GPs to carry out flu immunisations under the DES.

Influenza

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of influenza vaccine are available in (a) Staffordshire and (b) England.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not centrally purchase flu vaccine. General practitioners purchase their own supply of vaccine from one of the six United Kingdom suppliers, based on the number of eligible patients on their practice register.
	13.4 million doses of flu vaccine are available to order this year.

Meals on Wheels (Leeds)

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meals on wheels were distributed in Leeds North West in each year since 1997; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Fair Access to Social Care Initiative.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 November 2005
	This information is not centrally available. Views on the fair access to social care initiative were sought specifically as part of the Green Paper, Independence, Well-being and Choice. These views are being considered as we take this forward as part of the development of the White Paper.

Mental Health

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged five to 16 years in Hemel Hempstead have a clinically diagnosed mental disorder.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of patients with a primary psychiatric diagnosis (ICD-10 codes F00 to F99)(21) by gender and age, Dacorum Primary Care Trust, 200304(22)
		
			 Aged 5 to 16 years Number 
		
		
			 Male 0 
			 Female 10 
			 All patients 10 
		
	
	(21) Diagnoses are taken from chapter V (Mental and Behavioural Disorders) of the 10th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
	(22) Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, ie the data are ungrossed.
	Note:
	Disclosure rules apply due to the sensitive nature of the data; therefore, figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Mental Health

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to (a) preventive and (b) early intervention services for children's mental health disorders in Hemel Hempstead constituency in 200506.

Rosie Winterton: In 200506, 1.207 million was allocated to Hertfordshire county council for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
	It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) for their resident population in line with their CAMHS development strategy prepared jointly with their partners in the local authority. PCTs are obliged to be working towards the delivery of the public service agreement standard of a comprehensive CAMHS by the end of 2006.
	We expect both PCTs and local authorities to fund CAMHS. In 200506, both PCTs and local authorities have been given additional funds for CAMHS over and above what they may have already earmarked from their own resources.

Mixed Sex Wards

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps are being taken by her Department to phase out mixed sex wards in hospitals;
	(2)  when she expects the phasing out of mixed sex wards in hospitals to be completed.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has given a clear commitment to improving patient privacy and dignity and to the phasing out of mixed-sex accommodation.
	Current guidelines state that male and female patients should have access to separate bathroom and toilet facilities, and should be cared for in separate sleeping areas. Separate sleeping areas for men and women can be achieved using a variety of different layouts, including combinations of single rooms and single-sex bays within wards.
	The national health service met our target to provide single-sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of NHS trusts by December 2002. Progress has continued, with 97 per cent. of NHS trusts achieving these objectives by January 2005.
	No further targets have been set. We are using the framework of national standards to build on what has been achieved. Under this framework, the NHS is required to provide single-sex accommodation but is also required to ensure that each individual patients privacy and dignity is protected. The Healthcare Commission will monitor compliance to these standards.

Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many managers are employed by Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: senior managers and managers employed by Morecambe Bay Hospitals Trust as at 30 September 2004
		
			  headcount 
		
		
			 Total specified staff 127 
			 Senior manager 73 
			 Manager 54 
		
	
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census 2004

Neurological Conditions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received regarding the treatment of neurological conditions;
	(2)  what steps are being taken by her Department to improve the provision of (a) treatment and (b) rehabilitation services for people with neurological conditions;
	(3)  what steps are being taken by her Department to improve the provision of high quality appropriate local respite care for people with neurological conditions.

Liam Byrne: The national service framework (NSF) for long-term conditions focuses on improving services for people with neurological conditions across England. People with these conditions will get faster diagnosis, more rapid treatment and a comprehensive package of care under the NSF.
	Services in the NSF include:
	comprehensive assessment and regular review of people's problems;
	joint health and social care plans that change over time (especially for people with rapidly progressing conditions) and take other needs into account such as housing, transport, benefits, education, careers advice, employment and leisure;
	everyone having a single point of access to services via a named contact;
	self-referral, allowing people to refer themselves quickly back to services as their care needs change;
	access to a broad range of services including rehabilitation, equipment, accommodation, and personal care to help people live as independently as possible at home, and palliative care;
	and support to help people to work or take up other vocational opportunities.
	We have taken an inclusive approach to developing this NSF, involving a wide range of stakeholders either directly through the external reference group and its sub-groups or through open consultation. The NSF is therefore comprehensive in its coverage of all aspects of care and support for people with long-term conditions and closely mirrors the aspirations of all those who have contributed to its development.
	Quality requirement eight of the NSF specifically addresses the provision of respite care to enable people to achieve maximum choice about living independently at home.

NHS Professionals

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with Guildford and Waverley primary care trust about the implementation of NHS Professionals.

Caroline Flint: A letter dated 5 April 2004 was sent from the Department informing all chief executives of national health service trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHA) about the inception of NHS Professionals.
	NHS Professionals was established as a SHA in April 2004 to play a significant part in securing appropriate and effective use of temporary staff and reducing NHS expenditure on private agency staff.
	The implementation of NHS Professionals is a matter for agreement between NHS Professionals and NHS trusts wanting to engage with their services. The actual implementation process of NHS Professionals takes place in four stages; initial contact, consultation, pre-implementation and implementation. This spans a 1216 week period when NHS Professionals works in partnership with the trust, combining their resources and working to pre-agreed deadlines ensuring the seamless transition of temporary staffing services.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults have been committed against NHS workers while on duty in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The number of assaults on staff is shown in the table for the period 2000 to 2003 which is the latest data available.
	
		Number of reported violent incidents in the specified organisations in each specified year
		
			   200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 Total specified organisations  53 161 117 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust RFU 45 48 75 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA Q02 (23) (23) (24) 
			 Dacorum PCT 5GW (23) 3 0 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust RWG 8 110 42 
		
	
	(23) Not applicable.
	(24) indicates missing or invalid data.
	Source:
	Survey of Violence, Accidents, Harassments, in the NHS

Nursing Homes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what encouragement is given to nursing homes to provide residents with activities to help stimulate the mind; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 November 2005
	Regulation 16 of the Care Homes Regulations 2001, requires nursing and care home providers to consult service users about their social interests, to make arrangements to enable them to engage in local, social and community activities and to visit, or maintain contact or communicate with their families and friends.
	Care homes must also consult with service users about the programme of activities arranged by or on behalf of the home, and provide facilities for recreation including, having regard to the needs of service users, activities in relation to recreation, fitness and training.
	The national minimum standards set out in more detail what care homes are expected to do to meet residents expectations, preferences and capacity for social contacts and activities.

Opthalmic Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the progress made by the General Ophthalmic Services in England towards providing patients with choice as described in The Nation's Health and Social Change pamphlet.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 27 October 2005
	National health service sight tests are available to certain priority groups, mainly people aged 60 and over, children under 16, those aged under 19 in full-time education, defined categories of people at particular risk of developing eye disease and people on low incomes who might otherwise be deterred by the cost of a private sight test. These individuals may choose which contractor listed with their primary care trust provides their sight test under NHS arrangements.
	Financial help towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses, via an optical voucher, is available to children under 16, those aged under 19 in full-time education and those on a low income. These individuals may take their optical voucher to an outlet of their choice and use their voucher as full or part payment towards a pair of glasses or contact lenses of their choice. They are not obliged to buy glasses or contact lenses from the practice where they had their sight tested.

PCT Deficits

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether repayments of deficits of primary care trusts brought forward from 200405 will affect the level of the 200506 settlement; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The repayment of 200405 deficits by individual primary care trusts will not affect the Department's settlement in 200506 because they were offset by surpluses elsewhere.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision her Department has made for veterans suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rosie Winterton: National health service trusts have a responsibility to provide services to meet the mental health needs of all those who are eligible for treatment including veterans. To provide health care professionals with recommendations for good practice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published treatment guidelines for the management of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in primary, secondary and community care in March 2005. The Department has been actively promoting awareness of such good practice in its work with other Government Departments and Agencies, as well as liaising with relevant professional bodies to try to ensure that more staff are trained in effective approaches to the management of PTSD.

Psychiatric Hospitals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the security of psychiatric hospitals in England; and what steps she is taking to improve the security of such hospitals.

Rosie Winterton: The Department commissioned a security review at the three high security hospitals (Broadmoor, Ashworth and Rampton) in 2000, which recommended improved security measures to the perimeter and internal security of the hospitals. The Government accepted that all of the review report's recommendations should be implemented.
	These hospitals must also comply with safety and security directions given to the hospitals by the Department, which encompass various security requirements and cover issues such as the searching of patients and their rooms, the circumstances in which patients should be permitted access to computers and the arrangements that should be made for the testing of patients for illicit substances.
	The high security hospitals are also subjected to annual prison service security audits. The prison service security audit team report that the audits show that security standards at the hospitals are essentially satisfactory and continue to improve.
	Guidance on the design of medium secure units is provided in the Design Guide for Medium Secure Psychiatric Units published by NHS Estates. This document is being reviewed and revised and will be re-issued by spring next year.
	Security of all units combines physical, operational and relational aspects, which consider building and engineering design, operational policies and staffing levels. Other measures to improve relational security included the joint interim guidance from the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) in February 2004 to support mental health service providers and enable them to review their current policies and procedures relating to education, training and practice in the safe and therapeutic management of aggression and violence.
	The NPSA is also engaged in the 'Safer Wards for Acute Psychiatry' initiative, a two-year evidence based project which aims to understand and address system issues that impact on patient safety on acute psychiatric in-patient settings. The project will be completed in March 2006.
	The NIMHE/NPSA joint guidance was followed in February 2005 by guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for the national health service on the management of disturbed or violent behaviour in psychiatric in-patient settings and emergency departments.

Renal Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken by her Department to improve access to local renal services, with particular reference to dialysis.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has provided 60 million additional funding between 200001 and 200506 for capital investment to expand dialysis services. Survey data show the number of haemodialysis stations in England increased by more than a third between 1998 and 2002, from 1,890 to 2,582, with a further 378 planned at that point, the most recent for which complete data are available. Many of these are in satellite units, which can be sited to provide access to dialysis closer to home for renal patients with routine conditions: the number of satellite units rose from 73 in 1998 to 101 in 2002, with a further 34 planned.
	This supports The National Service Framework for Renal Services, Part One, which the Department published in 2004, which set standards for dialysis services and identified their continued expansion as an early action for commissioners. The national surveys commissioned by the Department provide data to support the planning and commissioning of dialysis services.
	Many patients rely on hospital transport services to access the dialysis unit. The Department has funded two action learning sets to develop and test improvements to non-emergency patient transport services for dialysis patients, in urban and rural areas. These are due to report in January 2006.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (Car Park)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to enable the Royal Shrewsbury hospital to stop charging patients for using the car park.

Rosie Winterton: It is a matter for individual national health service trusts to decide whether or not to charge for car parking, and the level of charges in the light of local circumstances. We have no plans to change this, either generally or in relation to particular NHS trusts.

Skin Cancer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she will take to increase awareness of the risks of skin cancer.

Caroline Flint: The Department and the other United Kingdom health departments have commissioned Cancer Research UK to run SunSmart, which was launched in 2003, as the national skin cancer prevention and sun protection campaign. The SunSmart campaign includes raising both public and professional awareness of skin cancer through providing information about it and guidance on preventative measures to reduce the risks associated with skin cancer. The campaign raises awareness through support for health promotion events, the provision of printed resources, media briefings and through the SunSmart website. SunSmart also supports schools in developing their own sun protection policies through school guidelines and curriculum resources.

Smoking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to help adults stop smoking.

Caroline Flint: Since 1998, the Government have put in place a comprehensive strategy to tackle smoking to reduce the deaths caused by smoking. The strategy focuses on action to discourage people from ever starting, and help for all smokers. We are aiming to create a climate where non-smoking is the norm.
	We have banned almost all tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion. Our highly effective national anti-smoking education campaign is reaching smokers and helping motivate them to quit. People who wish to give up smoking can get help from the national health service stop smoking services. We set out proposals to bring in new measures to improve the way the NHS helps smokers to give up in our White Paper Choosing Health. We will reduce exposure to secondhand smoke through; the Health Bill introduced to Parliament on 27 October includes a ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces and public places that will cover 99 per cent. of the workforce. We will consult on introducing picture warnings onto tobacco packs. Together this strategy has helped reduce adult smoking rates in England from 28 per cent. in 1998 to 25 per cent. in 2003, around 1.2 million smokers.

Smoking

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the Government plans to publish the responses received during the consultation on the smokefree elements of the Health Bill;
	(2)  whether the Government plans to publish an analysis of the responses to the consultation on the smokefree elements of the Health Bill.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 11 November 2005
	We intend to publish a summary of the responses to the consultation on the smokefree elements of the Health Bill shortly.
	A copy will be placed in the Library.

Vacuum-assisted Closure Machines

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received regarding the use of vacuum-assisted closure machines in the treatment of pressure ulcers;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the long-term cost-effectiveness of using vacuum-assisted closure machines in the treatment of pressure ulcers in place of more traditional methods;
	(3)  what plans her Department has to expand the use of vacuum-assisted closure machines across the NHS.

Liam Byrne: I am unaware of receiving any representations regarding the use of vacuum assisted closure machines for the treatment of pressure ulcers.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published new clinical guidance on pressure ulcer management in September 2005. This comprehensive guidance includes appraisals on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a wide range of options for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, including vacuum-assisted closure methods.
	Reducing the incidence of pressure sores in hospitals is tackled locally through the development and implementation of individualised plans for prevention and treatment agreed and delivered by a multidisciplinary team working with patients and their carers.

Volunteers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance the Department has given to (a) directly managed hospitals and (b) foundation trusts on the replacement of staff with volunteers; and what advice it offers to (i) patient and public involvement teams and (ii) voluntary service managers on brokering such arrangements.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 November 2005
	Guidance on volunteering within social care and the national health service was published in the Health Service Circulars (HSC), Promoting volunteering and relations with the voluntary sector in the NHS and Social Care (HSC 1999/023). As independent healthcare organisations, national health service foundation trusts determine their own human resource policies and practices, and follow best practice guidelines in the provision of healthcare where they feel it is appropriate to do so.

Working Time Directive

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the application of the EU Working Time Directive to the medical work force has increased the minimum catchments for acute services; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect the information requested centrally. The Working Time Directive provides challenges and opportunities to modernise services looking at new ways of working, work force planning, skill mix and service redesign.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Assaults

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been convicted of physical or sexual abuse of children in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Full statistics relating to persons convicted of physical or sexual abuse of children are currently not available.
	The information included as follows is limited in coverage to persons convicted of offences which from their title allow identification of child victims, for example, 'cruelty to person under 16'. Prosecutions and sentencing data with linked victim information will become available with the rollout of the next phase of Causeway, anticipated by the end of 2006,
	
		
			  Convictions for physical abuse against children(25) Convictions for sexual abuse against children(26) 
		
		
			 1994 12 27 
			 1995 20 27 
			 1996 8 19 
			 1997 11 13 
			 1998 6 24 
			 1999 5 13 
			 2000 9 47 
			 2001 8 17 
			 2002 9 9 
			 2003 14 16 
		
	
	(25) Includes child abandonment and child cruelty offences.
	(26) Includes sexual offences where the offence title specifies the victim as age 16 years or under.

Assets Recovery Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the cases investigated by the Assets Recovery Agency in Northern Ireland relate to persons believed to be (a) republican and (b) loyalist; and how many of the cases successfully concluded fall into each of these two categories.

Shaun Woodward: Cases are not routinely judged on individual affiliations but on the assets derived from identified criminal activity.
	The breakdown of cases according to community background is based on the best estimate of what the agency believes to be the likely affiliation.
	Of the cases investigated by the Assets Recovery Agency in the current year to date, six relate to individuals believed to have links to loyalist groups and two cases relate to individuals believed to have links to republican groups.
	Of the cases concluded in the current year to date, two have been identified as being from the loyalist community.

Ballot Papers

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many spoiled ballot papers there were in each district council electoral area in Northern Ireland in (a) the most recent 2005 local government elections and (b) 2001.

David Hanson: The number of invalid ballot papers for the local government elections in 2005 and 2001 were as follows:
	
		Local government election
		
			 District 5 May 2005 7 June 2001 
		
		
			 01 Derry 1,144 1,390 
			 02 Limavady 232 239 
			 03 Coleraine 376 491 
			 04 Ballymoney 237 268 
			 05 Moyle 136 187 
			 06 Larne 233 342 
			 07 Ballymena 415 510 
			 08 Magherafelt 323 429 
			 09 Cookstown 131 360 
			 10 Strabane 328 457 
			 11 Omagh 537 599 
			 12 Fermanagh 549 650 
			 13 Dungannon 341 497 
			 14 Craigavon 810 988 
			 15 Armagh 454 552 
			 16 Newry and Mourne 874 1,263 
			 17 Banbridge 313 329 
			 18 Down 536 677 
			 19 Lisburn 888 1,085 
			 20 Antrim 337 501 
			 21 Newtownabbey 709 938 
			 22 Carrickfergus 315 376 
			 23 North Down 610 782 
			 24 Ards 581 652 
			 25 Castlereagh 578 809 
			 26 Belfast 2,771 4,106 
			 Total 14,758 19,477

Ballot Papers

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many spoiled ballot papers there were in each constituency in Northern Ireland at the (a) 2005 and (b) 2001 general elections in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The number of invalid ballot papers for the Westminster general elections in 2005 and 2001 were as follows:
	
		General election
		
			 Constituency 5 May 2005 7 June 2001 
		
		
			 Belfast East 188 202 
			 Belfast North 250 377 
			 Belfast South 211 233 
			 Belfast West 383 716 
			 East Antrim 207 327 
			 East Londonderry 308 399 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 558 693 
			 Foyle 463 495 
			 Lagan Valley 277 281 
			 Mid Ulster 468 452 
			 Newry and Armagh 630 587 
			 North Antrim 300 328 
			 North Down 171 188 
			 South Antrim 223 196 
			 South Down 489 574 
			 Strangford 190 217 
			 Upper Bann 327 339 
			 West Tyrone 523 434 
			 Total 6,166 7,038

C8

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the types of contract of employment applicable to those working in the policing unit designated C8; and what the nature is of the review scheduled to take place on or around 4 November.

Shaun Woodward: The staff employed on the Historical Enquiry Team (C8) are a mixture of serving police officers and civilian staff. The police officers are currently all seconded staff from England and Scotland, but a number of PSNI staff will join the unit in the new year. Civilian staff are a mixture of direct employees of the PSNI, persons on short-term contract and agency staff. These numbers 'ebb and flow' in response to demand (e.g. the search process) but will stabilise in 2006 once the team becomes operational.
	I am advised by the police that no 'review' was held on or around 4 November.

Crime and Disorder Act

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Some of the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 already directly extend to Northern Ireland. Further extensions were not proposed at that time as a contemporaneous review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland was planned and it would have been inappropriate to do so in advance of the review's conclusions. A series of other important measures, provided in the Act, have subsequently been introduced, in recent years, through separate Northern Ireland legislation. These have included provisions dealing with hate crime, antisocial behaviour, reparation orders in youth justice and the creation of additional bail powers. There are no plans to extend the remaining provisions to Northern Ireland at the current time but this will be kept under review in response to operational needs.

Child Support Agency

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the criteria used in formulating the answers of 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 641W, on the Child Support Agency management board and 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 1028W, on the Social Security Agency, were the same as those used in formulating the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 108W, on public bodies (appointments).

Angela Smith: When answering any request for information on community background the rules that are to be applied for the release of such information fall under the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 (subjected to specified exceptions).
	In respect of the answer given of 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 641W, on the child support agency management board, it was not possible to give the information requested as to do so may have revealed (or allowed someone to deduce) the community background of individual staff because of the small number of staff involved. However in the case of the answer of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 1028W, the legislation was incorrectly interpreted and the following requested information should have been provided.
	
		
			  Competition 
			  Permanent Temporary 
		
		
			 Protestant 133 100 
			 Roman Catholic 202 132 
			 Non-determined 3 9 
			 Total 338 241

Departmental Refurbishment

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the refurbishment projects in his Department that (a) are in progress and (b) will start in the next six months.

Peter Hain: The NIO currently is refurbishing a minor wing of Hillsborough Castle and replacing the water piping throughout the building.
	Three refurbishment projects are due to start within the next six months in Castle Buildings blocks 1 to 3, Massey House and Stormont House.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Departmental Staff Training

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on staff training and development in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The total amount spent on learning and development in the NIO excluding its agencies is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Resource spend () 
		
		
			 200405 1,124,307.00 
			 200304 943,942.00 
			 200203 971,270.64

Departmental Stationery

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department has joined the Watermark project.

Peter Hain: The Watermark project does not apply in Northern Ireland.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved administration.

Departmental Vehicles

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reduction there has been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting in the Department since (i) 200304 and (ii) 200405.

Peter Hain: The NIO is currently collecting baseline information for its transport fleet to enable it to monitor reduction in vehicle carbon dioxide emissions.
	The Department is also currently carrying out a green transport survey for the purposes of identifying what opportunities exist to reduce single car occupancy commuting.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Departmental Vehicles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles for which the Department is responsible are fitted with retreaded tyres.

Peter Hain: For information on the use of retread tyres on vehicles provided to the Department by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, I refer the hon. Member to the letter of 11 October 2005 which he received from the chief executive of the GCDA, reference UIN15088. Copies of this letter are available in the Library.
	There are no retreaded tyres on other vehicles owned or leased directly by the NIO.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Domestic Violence

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of domestic violence were reported in each of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies in the last year for which figures are available.

David Hanson: The PSNI are the sole source of reliable information about domestic violence as they capture recorded crimes with a domestic motivation. The information is therefore only available across PSNI District Command Units and is set out in the table for the year 200405.
	It is however believed these figures do not reflect the true level of domestic violence in Northern Ireland, In the Northern Ireland Crime Survey 200304 19 per cent. of female respondents claimed they had been the victims of domestic violence at some time in their lives, while 11 per cent. of male respondents made a similar claim.
	
		
			 Area Total offences recorded 
		
		
			 Antrim 235 
			 Ards 345 
			 Armagh 166 
			 Ballymena 311 
			 Ballymoney 122 
			 Banbridge 200 
			 East Belfast 397 
			 North Belfast 630 
			 South Belfast 325 
			 West Belfast 522 
			 Carrickfergus 152 
			 Castlereagh 187 
			 Coleraine 309 
			 Cookstown 196 
			 Craigavon 556 
			 Down 147 
			 Dungannon/South Tyrone 122 
			 Fermanagh 151 
			 Foyle 651 
			 Larne 111 
			 Limivady 204 
			 Lisburn 819 
			 Magherafelt 99 
			 Moyle 52 
			 Newry and Mourne 268 
			 Newtownabbey 395 
			 North Down 294 
			 Omagh 219 
			 Strabane 323 
			 Total 8,508

Election Fraud

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps can be taken against a candidate who has been elected in a local government election or general election but has handed in fraudulent election returns.

David Hanson: A return of expenses after an election must contain a declaration of the amount incurred. If the person making the return makes a false declaration they are guilty of an offence, as is any person who aids or abets, counsels or procures the false declaration.
	All returns and declarations for local government elections are open for inspection by anyone at council offices for two years. If the return is discovered to be fraudulent, criminal proceedings can follow.
	For parliamentary general elections, the Electoral Commission has responsibility for monitoring compliance with the law on election expenses. If they discover that a return is fraudulent, criminal proceedings can follow.

Electronic Human Resources Contract

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the status of Fujitsu Services Ltd. is in relation to the bidding process for the Northern Ireland civil service electronic human resources contract; and what criteria were used in determining the (a) timing and (b) content of the statement issued on 19 October regarding the contract.

Angela Smith: Following the evaluation process, the authority has entered into further discussions with Fujitsu Services Ltd. with a view to them being selected as preferred bidder. Progression to preferred bidder status depends upon the satisfactory resolution of a number of points. These issues must be resolved within a four-week period from 19 October.
	At this stage:
	(i) No preferred bidder has been selected.
	(ii) The contract has not been awarded.
	The timing was determined by the completion of the evaluation process and ratification of the outcome by the programme board. The criteria used in determining the content of the statement issued on 19 October were the evaluation criteria published as part of the instructions to bidders. A copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Electronic Human Resources Contract

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when gateway reviews were carried out on the procurement process used for the civil service electronic human resources contract; by whom they were carried out; and on what terms.

Angela Smith: The eHR project has been subject to five reviews under the peer review process allied to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway process. These reviews ensure compliance with process before moving to the next stage.
	
		
			  Reviews Date 
		
		
			 Gate 0 Strategic Assessment November 2002 
			 Gate 1 Business Justification February 2003 
			 Gate 2 Procurement Strategy May 2003 
			 Gate 2a Health Check Review December 2003 
			 Gate 2b Health Check Review June 2004 
		
	
	The peer review process has been conducted in accordance with OGC Gateway guidance, led by an OGC member of staff and supported by public sector panel members independent of the her project and who are trained in carrying out Gateway Reviews.
	The terms for carrying out the reviews were as follows:
	Gate 0Strategic Assessment
	Ensure that the project or programme is supported by users and stakeholders and contributes to the organisation's business strategy.
	Review the arrangements for leading and managing the project or programme (and its individual projects).
	Review the arrangements for identifying and managing the main project or programme risks (and in the case of a programme the individual project risks), including external risks such as changing business priorities.
	Check that financial provision has been made for the project or programme and that plans for the work to be done through to business case justification (Gateway Review 1) for each procurement project are realistic, properly resourced and authorised. This should include the individual projects within a programme.
	Gate 1Business Justification
	Confirm that the business case is robustthat is, in principle it meets business need, is affordable, achievable, with appropriate options explored and likely to achieve value for money.
	Establish that the feasibility study has been completed satisfactorily and that there is a preferred way forward.
	Ensure that there is internal and external authority, if required, and support for the project.
	Ensure that the major risks have been identified and outline risk management plans have been developed.
	Establish that the project is likely to deliver its business goals and that it supports wider business change, where applicable.
	Confirm that the scope and requirements specifications are realistic, clear and unambiguous.
	Ensure that the full scale, intended outcomes, timescales and impact of relevant external issues have been considered.
	Ensure that there are plans for the next stage.
	Confirm planning assumptions and that the project team can deliver the next stage.
	Confirm that overarching and internal business and technical strategies have been taken into account.
	Establish that quality plans for the project and its products are in place.
	Gate 2Procurement Strategy
	Confirm the outline business case now the project is fully defined.
	Ensure that the procurement strategy is robust and appropriate.
	Ensure that the project's plan through to completion is appropriately detailed and realistic.
	Ensure that the project controls and organisation are defined, financial controls are in place and the resources are available.
	Confirm funding availability for the whole project.
	Confirm that the development and delivery approach and mechanisms are still appropriate and manageable.
	Check that the supplier market capability and track record is fully understood (or existing supplier's capability and performance).
	Confirm that the procurement (or acquisition approach) will facilitate good client/supplier relationships in accordance with government initiatives such as Achieving Excellence in Construction Procurement.
	Confirm that appropriate project performance measures and tools are being used.
	Confirm that quality procedures have been applied consistently since the previous review.
	Gate 2aHealth Check Review
	Ensure that there is internal and external authority, if required, and stakeholder support for the project.
	Check that the business case is still robust in the light of further work on the project.
	Check that financial provision has been made for the project or programme and that plans for the work to be done through to Investment Decision (Gateway Review 3) for each procurement project are realistic, properly resourced and authorised. This should include the individual projects within a programme.
	Ensure that the project controls and organisation are defined, financial controls are in place and the resources are available.
	Ensure that the major risks have been identified and outline risk management plans have been developed.
	Confirm that quality procedures have been applied consistently since the previous review.
	Confirm that plans for benefits realisation are being developed.
	Ensure that the procurement strategy is still robust and appropriate.
	Confirm that the scope and requirements specifications are realistic, clear and unambiguous.
	Confirm that the development and delivery approach and mechanisms are still appropriate and manageable.
	Gate 2bHealth Check Review
	Ensure that there is internal and external authority, if required, and stakeholder support for the project.
	Check that the business case is still robust in the light of further work on the project.
	Check that financial provision has been made for the project or programme.
	Ensure that the project controls and organisation are defined, financial controls are in place and the resources are available.
	Ensure that the project's plan through to completion is appropriately detailed and realistic, including contract management strategy.
	Ensure that the major risks have been identified and outline risk management plans have been developed.
	Confirm that quality procedures have been applied consistently since the previous review.
	Confirm that plans for benefits realisation are being developed.
	Ensure that the procurement strategy is still robust and appropriate.
	Confirm that the scope and requirements specifications are realistic, clear and unambiguous.
	Confirm that the development and delivery approach and mechanisms are still appropriate and manageable.

Electronic Human Resources Contract

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will commission an independent peer review of the procurement process in respect of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Electronic Human Resources contract.

Angela Smith: A peer review additional to the process detailed will not be commissioned.
	The procurement process has been undertaken in accordance with European Union procurement law and the Department of Finance and Personnel has been guided by best procurement practice as recommended by the Office of Government Commerce and Central Procurement Directorate (Department of Finance and Personnel).
	The eHR project has been subject to five reviews under the peer review process allied to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway process:
	
		
			   Review date 
		
		
			 Gate 0 Strategic Assessment November 2002 
			 Gate 1 Business Justification February 2003 
			 Gate 2 Procurement Strategy May 2003 
			 Gate 2a Health Check Review December 2003 
			 Gate 2b Health Check Review June 2004 
		
	
	The peer review process has been conducted in accordance with OGC Gateway guidance, led by an OGC member of staff and supported by public sector panel members independent of the eHR project and who are trained in carrying out Gateway Reviews.
	A further three reviews will be carried out, these are:
	
		
			 December 2005  
		
		
			 Gate 3 Investment Decision 
			 Gate 4 Readiness for Service 
			 Gate 5 Benefits evaluation

Energy Efficiency

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets he has for improving energy efficiency; and how he intends to achieve these targets.

Peter Hain: The Department proposes to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings by 15 per cent. by 201011 relative to 19992000 consumption.
	For the purposes of securing this reduction, the Department's energy consumption in its key buildings is monitored and managed by a Building Energy Management System. In addition the Department carries out minor projects to improve energy efficiency across its estate.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Equality Commission

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Equality Commission has offered advice to local councils in Northern Ireland that (a) have undertaken and (b) are undertaking article 55 reviews of their work force.

Angela Smith: I understand that the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Ms Evelyn Collins, has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	The Equality Commission offers advice to all employers to ensure they are facilitated to comply with their duties under the Fair Employment  Treatment (NI) Order 1998. This includes ensuring local councils are provided with relevant advice to conduct their Article 55 Reviews.

Equality Commission

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland uses in ascertaining whether employers have a work force whose religious make-up may require the use of the phrase 'we particularly welcome applications from . . . ' in recruitment advertising.

Angela Smith: I understand that the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Ms Evelyn Collins, has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	The Commission recommends that employers consider the use of equality statements in job advertisements particularly welcoming applications from the Protestant or Roman Catholic community where that group is under-represented in the workforce and also among applicants for employment.

Equality Commission

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for assistance with complaints of discrimination in employment and non-employment have been received by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in each year since its inception.

Angela Smith: I understand that the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Ms Evelyn Collins, has written to the hon. Gentleman in the following terms:
	The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland considered the following applications for assistance with complaints of discrimination in employment and non employment in each year since its inception:
	19992000548
	200001651
	200102861
	200203623
	200304121
	200405417

Farm Accidents

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children aged under 16 years have (a) died and (b) suffered serious injury in farm accidents in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Angela Smith: A total of 17 individuals aged less than 16 years have died as the result of farm accidents in Northern Ireland during the last 10 years.
	The breakdown by parliamentary constituency is as follows:
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Number of individuals 
		
		
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 4 
			 West Tyrone 3 
			 Newry and Armagh 2 
			 East Londonderry 2 
			 South Down 2 
			 Mid Ulster 2 
			 Upper Bann 1 
			 North Antrim 1 
		
	
	The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland does not hold statistically reliable data for individual serious injury accidents in this age category, However the Social Survey of Farmers and Farm Families conducted in 200102 found that 44 people, aged less than 16 years, on farms sustained injury that required professional medical attention. The study was conducted throughout Northern Ireland and results in this category are not sub-divided by parliamentary constituency.

Farm Accidents

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals aged 65 years and over have (a) died and (b) suffered serious injury in farm accidents in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Angela Smith: A total of 22 individuals aged 65 years and over have died as the result of farm accidents in Northern Ireland during the last 10 years.
	The breakdown by parliamentary constituency is as follows:
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Number of individuals 
		
		
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 8 
			 Newry and Armagh 5 
			 East Londonderry 2 
			 Lagan Valley 2 
			 Upper Bann 2 
			 Mid Ulster 2 
			 North Antrim 1 
		
	
	The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland does not hold statistically reliable data for individual serious injury accidents in this age category. However the Social Survey of Farmers and Farm Families conducted in 200102 found that 71 people, aged 65 years and over, on farms sustained injury that required professional medical attention.
	The study was conducted throughout Northern Ireland and the results are not analysed by parliamentary constituency.

Health and Safety

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance is being given by the Government to small and medium-sized enterprises (a) to ensure that they are aware of their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Northern Ireland Order 1978 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 2002 and (b) to help them carry out appropriate health and safety risk assessments in the workplace.

Angela Smith: The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland established a small business advisory service, Health and Safety Works Northern Ireland (HSWNI), on 1 April 2004. This was in direct response to a need expressed by the small business community in Northern Ireland, The service, which is available at no cost to business, provides advice, guidance and support to small businesses to help them meet their health and safety obligations, including those relating to risk assessment.

Healthy Eating

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated in the Province for education and advising parents on the benefits of a healthy diet for their children in 200506.

Angela Smith: It is not possible to specifically identify the level of funding allocated for education and advising parents on the benefits of a healthy diet for their children, as this involves a range of nutrition education initiatives and health promotion services.
	In 200506, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety provided 550,000 to support nutrition and healthy eating, the Food Standards Agency allocated 75,000 to non-school based nutrition education and the Department of Education has allocated up to 10,000 to inform parents about the new nutritional standards for school meals and also provide them with general healthy eating advice for their children. This advice outlines the new standards and explains why they are needed in schools. It also outlines how parents can be involved by, for example, encouraging their children to eat healthier options at home and elsewhere. In addition, nutrition education forms part of the plans of Investing for Health Partnerships, Health Action Zones and a number of the Healthy Living Centres. The Big Lottery's Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke and Cancer programme has also supported a number of nutrition education initiatives in recent years.
	A range of primary care professionals offer advice on healthy eating as part of their health promotion role. In particular, advising parents on the benefits of a healthy diet for young children is part of the universal core programme for child health screening and surveillance, which is delivered by midwives, health visitors and school nurses, but also includes a wider range of professionals such as community dentists.

Home Accidents

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will assess the merits of developing guidance for the teaching of home accident prevention to school-aged children in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: As part of the support programme for the introduction of the revised curriculum, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) is currently piloting primary and post-primary Personal Development guidance materials for teachers, which includes guidance on teaching home accident prevention. Within the present curriculum, pupils are taught about the subject through the Health Education Cross-Curricular Theme. In addition, my Department provides funding annually to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents towards the cost of delivering accident prevention programmes in schools.

Live Cattle Exports

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs were of checking the welfare during transport of live cattle being exported to the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The export of live cattle from the UK was banned by the EU in March 1996 due to fears about the risk to human health from BSE in cattle.
	Data on pre-1996 checks was held by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland on a computer based record system, which was replaced by the Animal and Public Health Information System in 1998. Data from the old system was retained for a 5 year period but was then deleted. There is therefore no data available on welfare checks prior to March 1996.

Londonderry Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the public inquiry led by Lord Saville into the events in Londonderry in January 1972 to announce its findings.

David Hanson: The independent Bloody Sunday inquiry has informed me that they are now engaged in compiling their final report. Due to the vast amount of evidence that must be considered this is a very time consuming process and it is difficult at this stage to be precise about when the report will be presented to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Londonderry Inquiry

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost to date has been of the Saville Inquiry; and if he will list legal firms which have received payments from his Department in connection with it.

David Hanson: On the figures available at the end of October 2005 the total cash spend of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was 163 million.
	On the basis of the records currently available the following legal firms and counsel have received payment from the Northern Ireland Office in respect of their involvement with the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
	Counsel for the Inquiry
	Christopher Clarke
	Jacob Grierson
	Alan Roxburgh
	Cathryn McGahey
	Bilal Rawat
	Solicitors employed for the taking of witness statements
	Eversheds
	Senior Counsel representing Interested Parties
	Lord Gifford
	Arthur Harvey
	Michael Lavery
	Barry J McDonald
	P T MacDonald
	Michael Mansfield
	Eilish McDerrnott
	Seamus Treacy
	Eoin McGonigal
	Kevin Finegan
	Reginald Weir
	James Gallagher
	Declan Morgan
	Richard Ferguson1
	Sir Louis Blom Cooper
	Junior Counsel representing Interested Parties
	John Coyle
	Fiona Doherty
	Ciaran Harvey
	Richard Harvey
	Brian Kennedy
	Philip Magee
	Kieran Mallon
	Brian McCartney
	Karen Quinlivan
	Patricia Smyth
	Michael Topolski
	Mary McHugh
	Tom McCreanor
	Gareth Purvis1
	Kevin O'Donovan1
	Paddy O'Hanlon
	Solicitors representing Interested Parties
	Barr and Co
	Brendan Kearney and Co
	Desmond Doherty and Co
	MacDermott and McGurk
	Madden and Finucane
	McCann and McCann
	McCartney and Casey
	P J McGrory1
	Jones and Co1
	Solicitor representing NICRA
	Francis Keenan
	Senior Counsel representing the NIQ
	Bernard McCloskey
	Jeremy Morgan
	Solicitor representing the NIQ
	The Treasury Solicitor
	Legal representatives for other witnesses:
	Senior Counsel representing Witnesses
	Andrew Nichol
	David Waters
	Robin de Wilde
	Anthony Jennings
	Ben Emmerson
	Andrew Caldecott
	Brian Fee
	Richard Weir
	Henry Blaxland
	Patrick Moloney
	Geoffrey Shaw
	Liain McCollum
	Gerald Simpson
	David Lloyd Jones
	Junior Counsel representing witnesses
	Andrew J Moriarty
	Michael McCrea
	Martin O'Rourke
	James Laddie
	David Humphries
	Joel Bennathan
	Des Fahey
	Conor Campbell
	Robin Steer
	Gavyn N Cairns
	Ivor McAteer
	David Sherborne
	Solicitors representing Witnesses
	Allen and Overy
	Finers Stephens Innocent
	Oliver J Kelly
	Corker Binning
	Colin Rayner and Co
	Penleys
	Noel Wilson
	Bindman and Partners
	BBC Litigation Dept
	Mills Selig
	Charles Russell
	Charles Russell (Guildford)
	Smith Dornan and Shea PC
	John Ross and Son
	Taylor Nichol
	Wynne Baxter
	Hopkins and Co
	Stelfox and Co
	Russell Jones and Walker
	Edwards and Co
	J. M. Hughes and Co
	Kendall Freeman
	T.G. Jones and Associates
	William J Hasson
	Babington and Croasdaile
	Dermot Walker and Co
	Francis Cyrilly
	Green and Green
	Hegarty and McFeely
	Hooper and Wollen
	Kenneth Beavis and Co
	Mark Moroney
	McElhinney and McDaid
	McGuinness, solicitors
	Pinsent Curtis Biddle
	Stunt Palmer and Robinson
	Brodies
	Jones and Ferriday
	J. A. Hughes
	McBurney and Co
	Hasson and Company
	Glanvilles
	H20, solicitors
	Wilkin Chapman Epton Blades
	Bonallack and Bishop
	Michael Lanigan and Co
	Worthington-Edridge Hulme and Co
	Giles Hunter Power
	Denhams
	Michael E Hanahoe
	Burgess Salmon
	Imran Khan
	Richard Monteith
	Davey Son and Jones
	McGuinness and Canavan
	Doherty and Quigley
	Harte Coyle Collins
	Denis Mullan
	Johnsons
	Addleshaw Goddard
	Murtagh Breen and Co
	Sheridan and Co
	A D McClay and Co
	Blount Petre Krarner
	Irwin Mitchell
	Steele and Co, solicitors
	Steele Ford Newton, solicitors
	Biddle
	Caldwell and Robinson
	D. J. Freeman, solicitors
	Edward Geldard, solicitors
	Garrett Sheehan and Co
	Gillian Fazan
	Heckford Norton
	Liberty
	Lowless and Lowless
	Marcus Barnett, solicitors
	Meehan Murphy and Co
	Morgans, solicitors
	Steele and Co
	Thompsons McClure
	Tonner Johns and Co
	Yanakas Votsis
	Campbell Fitzpatrick
	McCollum and Company
	Patterson, Taylor and Co, solicitors
	Peters and Peters
	Russell and Russell
	Wickwar and Chitiyo
	YVA, solicitors
	Con way, Todd and Co
	Deery and Conway, solicitors
	Goodmans, solicitors
	Patrick Fahy and Co
	S. C. Connolly and Co, solicitors
	1 Limited party status.

Maze Prison

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to appoint a panel to monitor the progress of the development of the former Maze Prison site.

Angela Smith: Nominations have been invited from each of the four main political parties to serve on a group to monitor the potential for development at the Maze/Long Kesh regeneration site. A number of nominations are awaited.

Neighbourhood Watch

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Neighbourhood Watch schemes are in operation in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: There are currently 84 accredited Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Northern Ireland. A number of schemes are also progressing through the accreditation process.

Neighbourhood Watch

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding is available for Neighbourhood Watch in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: During the current financial year, the Community Safety Unit, the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Policing Board has collectively made available up to 100,000 to support Neighbourhood Watch in Northern Ireland.

Omagh Bomb (Compensation Claims)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many compensation claims have been settled following the Omagh bomb; and what is the total amount of compensation paid.

Peter Hain: The Compensation Agency has fully resolved 826 of the 852 criminal injury claims it received following the Omagh bomb. To date approximately 20.4 million has been paid in relation to these claims.
	In relation to criminal damage claims, 214 of the 220 claims received have been resolved, with approximately 7.5 million having been paid in compensation.

Police Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what survey methods are used to establish the level of community confidence in the Police Service of Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland; and how often these surveys are undertaken.

Peter Hain: A range of quantitative surveys are commissioned by both the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Policing Board with a view to measuring community confidence in various aspects of the service provided by the police in Northern Ireland,
	Three main quantitative surveys are used, each of which is conducted by the Central Survey Unit of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:
	(a) The Northern Ireland Crime Survey, a personal interview survey of experiences and perceptions of crime, being conducted on a continuous basis since January 2005,
	(b) The Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey, a 'snapshot' personal interview survey covering a range of topics, run several times each year.
	(c) The District Policing Partnership (DPPs) Public Consultation Survey, a postal survey covering local policing priorities, satisfaction with the police and awareness of DPPs, conducted every two years.
	The most recent in-year figures covering the period January to June 2005, from the NI Crime Survey, show that 60 per cent. of those interviewed think that the police do a good job in Northern Ireland. This represents an increase of 3 per cent. on the previous year.

Religious Profiles

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the religious breakdown of staff employed in the Province within (a) the BBC, including Radio Ulster, (b) Citizens Advice Bureaux and (c) Ulster Television; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I understand that the chief executive of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Ms Evelyn Collins, has written to the hon. Lady in the following terms:
	The following information is taken from the Commission's Monitoring Report No. 14 A Profile of the Northern Ireland Workforce, Summary of Monitoring returns 2003, published by the Commission in November 2004. The composition of the Citizen's Advice Bureaux is not published in this report as it employs fewer than 26 employees.
	
		
			  British Broadcasting Corporation  Ulster Television plc 
		
		
			 P 409 127 
			 RC 335 79 
			 ND 122 16 
			 Total 866 222 
			
			 Percentage P 55 61.7 
			 Percentage RC 45 38.3

Road Accidents

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the percentage of road traffic accidents in Northern Ireland which were attributed to mechanical failure since the introduction of electronic MOT vehicle test procedures.

Shaun Woodward: The electronic MOT system was introduced in September 2003, The Police Service of Northern Ireland only records injury road traffic collisions. The total number of injury road traffic collisions recorded between 1 September 2003 and 31 March 2005 was 8,946. Of these 26 (0.29 per cent.) were attributed to vehicle defects 1 .
	1 Vehicle defects include: Defective brakes; Defective steering/suspension; Defective front lights, Defective rear lights and Defective tyres.

Sentencing Framework

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the public consultation on minimum terms and life sentence cases.

David Hanson: I am currently considering how to take forward the issue of the life sentence system in Northern Ireland in the context of the wider review of sentencing. I will issue a report on the outcome of the consultation shortly.

Sports Council

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was given to the Sports Council for Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland has received exchequer and lottery funding in the last 10 years for the amounts shown in the following table:
	
		 million
		
			  Exchequer Lottery 
		
		
			 199596 3.366 8.569 
			 199697 2.669 10.021 
			 199798 2,918 8.204 
			 199899 2.506 7.218 
			 19992000 2.406 7.585 
			 200001 4 423 7.585 
			 200102 3,536 8.254 
			 200203 5 276 7.300 
			 200304 7 096 5.858 
			 200405 5.937 7.514

Sustainable Development

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the action on sustainable development (a) required and (b) undertaken by his Department's (i) executive agencies, (ii) advisory non-departmental bodies, (iii) executive non-departmental bodies, (iv) tribunals, (v) public corporations and (vi) other bodies.

Peter Hain: The Government's framework and associated targets for sustainable development applies to Departments and their Executive Agencies. The framework does not cover the non-departmental public bodies and associated bodies. It is however anticipated that Departments will promote the framework to these groups and encourage the development of strategies for target setting, performance improvement and reporting. Compliant with these arrangements:
	NIPS is committed to a strategy which encompasses the national strategy with specific targets to reduce energy consumption, the application of the environmentally sound principals and practices and promoting the message of reduce, re-use and recycle and to secure reductions in vehicle exhaust emissions. Other detailed successes are as follows:
	A 35 per cent. reduction in electricity consumption since 1999;
	Use of CHP plant to generate 7 per cent. of total electricity;
	Replacement of water mains to reduce water usage;
	Use of a Building Energy Management System to control and monitor energy usage.
	Compensation Agency and the Youth Justice Agency are taking their lead from the NIO's central strategy and members of their staff attend the Green Champions meetings.
	The Public Prosecution Service is taking their lead from the NIO central strategy and is represented at the Green Champions meetings. PPS intend establishing a Sustainable Development Committee which will develop:
	The operation and management of its buildings;
	Energy efficiency, giving consideration to sourcing a percentage of electricity from renewable sources and combined heat and power;
	Water management/reduce consumption;
	Recycling and waste management;
	Review working patterns of staff in consideration with the new 'Regional Offices';
	Encourage use of alternative travel arrangements bus, train, cycle, walk;
	Promote car sharing;
	Develop training and awareness seminars for staff.
	Forensic Science Northern Ireland currently occupies temporary accommodation within the PSNI site at Seapark and has a well established working group that advises the chief executive on green housekeeping and energy saving initiatives. The working group have promoted policies on a number of issues covered under recycling and waste management, energy saving awareness and green procurement of consumables.
	The agency is currently engaged in a major project sponsored by the Department to provide new purpose-built laboratory accommodation. The project will apply the principles of the OGC 'Achieving Excellence in Construction' initiative and the complementary initiative 'Achieving Sustainability in Construction Procurement'.
	The Department is developing a roadshow and website which will be used to promote sustainable development to NDPD's and associated bodies.
	This answer only applies to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Sustainable Development

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on his Department's Sustainable Development Strategy.

Peter Hain: The NIO Departmental Board is committed to the Governments strategy on sustainable development and aims continually to improve the management and use of resources. It supports and actively contributes to the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development, which has four main aims:
	Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone;
	Effective protection of the environment;
	Prudent use of natural resources;
	Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.
	The Department will seek to promote these objectives by:
	Ensuring that its public sector agreement targets contribute to sustainable development;
	Assessing the environmental and social impact of any new or revised policy at an early stage;
	Integrating sustainable development policies into its procurement policies;
	Establishing appropriate targets in respect of energy and water use, travel activity, estate management and biodiversity and for the reduction, reuse and recycle of all materials and consumables;
	Educating and motivating staff and contractors to operate in an environmentally appropriate manner;
	Creating the opportunity for staff to become personally and actively involved in securing environmental improvements;
	Monitoring our performance and reporting on our achievements.
	Specific Objectives
	To:
	conserve energy, water, paper and other resources whilst maintaining comfort and operational effectiveness;
	reduce CO2 emissions by 12.5 per cent. by 201011 relative to 19992000;
	increase energy efficiency by 15 per cent. by 201011 relative to 19992000;
	source 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable sources by 2008;
	assess the environmental impact of our significant buildings by 2006;
	measure by 2006 the volume of waste currently generated and to identify options to reduce, reuse and recycle;
	promote Green Housekeeping policies with staff and appoint local managers for each site to champion environmental initiatives;
	establish the volume of water consumed within each site and where appropriate reduce consumption to 7.7 m 3 per person;
	establish a biodiversity policy for the grounds at Hillsborough Castle;
	comply with appropriate guidance on the conservation of historic buildings and grounds;
	reduce road transport carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10 per cent.;
	reduce single occupancy car commuting.
	Delivery
	The Department has appointed Central Services Division as the lead division to drive forward the various strands and objectives. Green Champions have been appointed in every division to promote the message of reduce, reuse, recycle. A green transport survey is under way to measure single occupancy car commuting and to identity opportunities for reductions. Key buildings in the NIO's office estate have all been converted from either oil fire or electric heating to natural gas and now acquire some 25 per cent. of all electricity from renewable sources. A waste stream audit for key sites is currently under way. Steps have taken to ensure that the maximum volume of waste paper is recycled. Arrangements have also been introduced at significant sites to recycle plastic, tin, cardboard and glass. All paper for printing and photocopying is from a recycled source.
	This answer applies only to the Northern Ireland Office and not to the 11 Departments of the devolved Administration.

Winter Fuel Payments

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pensioners (a) were eligible, (b) applied for and (c) have received winter fuel payments in each year since payments started, broken down by constituency in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The information requested is shown in the following table. Information on winter fuel payment applications is unavailable.
	
		Winter fuel payments (WFP) by parliamentary constituency 200001 to 200405Awards made and eligible population
		
			 1992 parliamentary constituency Eligible population (MYE 200001) 200001 Number of WFP received Eligible population (MYE 200102) 200102 Number of WFP received 
		
		
			 Belfast East 19,343 17,570 19,086 17,555 
			 Belfast North 18,912 16,980 18,709 16,753 
			 Belfast South 17,288 15,628 16,994 15,466 
			 Belfast West 13,786 12,232 13,738 12,244 
			 East Antrim 15,162 13,970 15,375 14,285 
			 East Londonderry 14.914 13,195 15,289 13,611 
			 Fermanagh and S Tyrone 16,321 13.124 16,456 13,499 
			 Foyle 14,060 12,301 14,319 12,530 
			 Lagan Valley 17,649 16,220 17,941 16,670 
			 Mid Ulster 12,941 11,442 13.131 11,687 
			 Newry and Armagh 16,176 14,302 16,353 14,594 
			 North Antrim 19,061 17,289 19,378 17,757 
			 North Down 18,331 16,669 18,547 16,959 
			 South Antrim 15,822 14,368 16,241 14,881 
			 South Down 17,097 15,205 17,360 15,555 
			 Strangford 17,442 16,012 17,854 16,458 
			 Upper Bann 17,091 15,506 17,416 15,839 
			 West Tyrone 13,317 11,565 13,498 11,838 
			 Total 294,713 263,578 297,685 268,181 
		
	
	
		
			 1992 parliamentary constituency Eligible population (MYE 200203) 200203 Number of WFP received Eligible population (MYE 200304) 200304 Number of WFP received 
		
		
			 Belfast East 19,011 17,555 18,964 17,593 
			 Belfast North 18,654 16,648 18,528 16,725 
			 Belfast South 16,929 15,478 16,911 15,540 
			 Belfast West 13,820 12,387 13,920 12,601 
			 East Antrim 15,713 14,728 16,097 15,234 
			 East Londonderry 15,677 14,003 16,146 14,460 
			 Fermanagh and S Tyrone 16,773 13,815 17,102 14,391 
			 Foyle 14,623 12,858 14,966 13,313 
			 Lagan Valley 18,218 17,138 18,636 17,737 
			 Mid Ulster 13,449 11,989 13,808 12,423 
			 Newry and Armagh 16,729 14,967 17,136 15,472 
			 North Antrim 19,831 18,301 20,423 19,058 
			 North Down 18,891 17,397 19,269 18,027 
			 South Antrim 16,764 15,418 17,266 16,053 
			 South Down 17,577 15,982 18,029 16,516 
			 Strangford 18,301 16,964 18,861 17,701 
			 Upper Bann 17,766 16,242 18,222 16,771 
			 West Tyrone 13.778 12.156 14,084 12.478 
			 Total 302,504 274,026 308,368 282,093 
		
	
	
		
			 1992 parliamentary constituency Eligible population (MYE 200405) 200405 Number of WFP received 
		
		
			 Belfast East 18,908 17,334 
			 Belfast North 18,408 16,212 
			 Belfast South 16,842 15,276 
			 Belfast West 13,978 12,424 
			 East Antrim 16,518 15,344 
			 East Londonderry 16,588 14,566 
			 Fermanagh and S Tyrone 17,459 14,464 
			 Foyle 15,390 13,409 
			 Lagan Valley 19,126 17,952 
			 Mid Ulster 14,178 12,527 
			 Newry and Armagh 17,576 15,623 
			 North Antrim 21,030 19,257 
			 North Down 19,833 18,288 
			 South Antrim 17,799 16,347 
			 South Down 18,509 16,758 
			 Strangford 19,409 17,910 
			 Upper Bann 18,639 16,833 
			 West Tyrone 14,417 12.643 
			 Total 314,607 283,167 
		
	
	Source:
	Eligible population figures are taken from Mid year estimates (MYE) published on www.nisra.gov.uk. All individuals aged 60 and over

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

1911 Census

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 applications to see sections of the 1911 decennial census for England and Wales have been (a) received and (b) rejected by the National Archives since 1 January.

Harriet Harman: From January 1 2005 to date The National Archives has recorded 143 requests, under the Freedom of Information Act, to see sections of the 1911 decennial census. In accordance with the Act and with Government policy, the National Archives considers each request for access to the 1911 returns on a case by case basis, in consultation with the Office for National Statistics as the transferring department. So far it has not been possible to grant any of these requests because they are covered by S.41 exemption of the Act relating to breach of confidence.

Coroners

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance her Department has issued to coroners on the means of establishing the identification of dead persons.

Harriet Harman: The means of identification are a matter for the coroner's judgment and will depend on the individual circumstances. We have not issued specific guidance to coroners.

Coroners

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance the Department has issued to coroners on making their reports available to doctors who request them; and if she will take steps to encourage coroners to make reports available when they are requested.

Harriet Harman: Guidance was issued by the Home Office in the form of a circular, No 62/1994. This commended the recommendation of the Clothier Report into the Beverley Allitt murders that, in every case, coroners should send copies of post-mortem reports to any consultant who has been involved in the patient's care prior to death, whether or not demanded, under the coroners rules. Any decision in an individual case is a matter for the coroner concerned. My officials will, however, discuss this matter at the next of their regular meetings with coroners.

Courts Employee Pension Scheme

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what inquiries her Department has made into the collapse of the courts employee pension scheme;
	(2) what representations have been made to her about the collapse of the courts employee pension scheme;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the effects of the merger of the courts employee pension scheme with the courts directors pension scheme.

Harriet Harman: The pension schemes for staff in this Department or in Her Majesty's Courts Service has not collapsed. Accordingly there have been no representations made.
	There is a single pension scheme (the principal civil service pension scheme) in operation within this Department and its agencies including Her Majesty's Courts Service.

Electoral Administration Bill

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether Labour party officials had sight of the draft or final copy of the Electoral Administration Bill before it was placed in the public domain.

Harriet Harman: I can confirm that no Labour party officials had sight of the draft or final copy of the Bill before it was introduced before Parliament.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of individual registration on registration levels in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
	Individual registration in Northern Ireland was introduced as part of the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 and has substantially enhanced the accuracy and integrity of the Electoral Register in Northern Ireland.
	Since then, however, there has been an annual downward drift in numbers registering mainly due to the requirement to hold an annual canvass with individuals having to provide information afresh each year. To combat this, the Government, after consulting the political parties and the Electoral Commission, is introducing legislation that will further reform and modernise the electoral registration arrangements. These measures will lift the burden on electors and refocus resources on more effectively targeting those not registered.

Her Majesty's Courts Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what the average remuneration is for a lawyer employed in a non-management post in Her Majesty's Courts Service;
	(2)  what the average renumeration is for a non-management lawyer employed in the Government Legal Services

Harriet Harman: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Government Legal Services lawyers are employed in more than 30 different Government Departments. It is up to each department to determine what salary to offer and it is unlikely that a lawyer's management responsibilities will be recorded.

Jury Service

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people summoned for jury service sought (a) deferment and (b) exemption in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: The information is as follows.
	
		People summoned for jury service who sought deferral or excusal: 200105
		
			  Number of people who sought deferral Number of people who sought excusal 
		
		
			 Between 2 April 2001 and 29 March 2002 64,023 175,773 
			 Between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 63,767 160,522 
			 Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004 65,529 135,900 
			 Between 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 66,577 109,933 
			 Between 1 April 2005 to the end of October 2005 42,266 60,831

Litigation

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the development of a common EU mechanism for litigation.

Harriet Harman: The EU is not developing a common mechanism for litigation. Certain measures have, however, been adopted or are under negotiation to facilitate cross-border litigation between EU member states. They include the European enforcement order, which came into force on 21 October 2005 which facilitates recognition and enforcement of uncontested judgments, a proposal for a European small claims procedure, and a European order for payment procedure to provide a simplified method of obtaining judgment on uncontested debts. These measures will benefit the citizens of the UK and the rest of Europe by providing a simplified and accelerated procedures for more straightforward cross-border litigation.

Ministerial Meetings

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Lord Chancellor last met the Archbishop of York to discuss constitutional issues of mutual interest to the Government and the church; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Lord Chancellor has held no meeting with the Archbishop of York to discuss constitutional issues.

Post Mortems

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many post mortems have been undertaken in the last five years on unidentified dead persons where more than 12 months has elapsed since death and no inquest has been held.

Harriet Harman: This information is not kept centrally.

Privy Council

Peter Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the members of the Privy Council.

Harriet Harman: There are 535 Privy Counsellors. A list can be found on the Privy Council Office websitewww.privycouncil.gov.uk

Privy Council

Peter Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions the Privy Council met in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Harriet Harman: There were 12 Privy Council meetings in 2004, and there have been 12 so far in 2005.

Privy Council Meetings

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions in the past two years meetings of the Privy Council involving attendance of Ministers have been held (a) outside London and (b) in Scotland; how many Ministers were involved; and which of these meetings lasted in excess of 15 minutes.

Harriet Harman: In the past two years there have been four Privy Council meetings outside London, 3 at Windsor Castle and 1 at Balmoral Castle. Seven Ministers were involved in total. No record is kept of the length of Privy Council meetings.

Probate Costs

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of why the costs of probate in Northern Ireland are higher than those elsewhere in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The fee structure for grant of probate in Northern Ireland is calculated on a different basis from England and Wales. Probate fees in Northern Ireland are charged on a sliding scale with reference to the value of the estate.

Saville Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2005, on the Saville inquiry, what the previous highest amount of public expenditure incurred in holding a public inquiry in the United Kingdom was; and what the total amount incurred for legal fees on that occasion was.

Bridget Prentice: To accurately gauge expenditure on public inquires prior to 1990 would be likely to incur unreasonable costs. However, since 1990 the highest expenditure for a public inquiry has been approximately 30 million for the inquiry into Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. This figure includes the cost of the inquiry itself, together with the costs of liaison units and legal support for witnesses from all the main Departments involved. Further detailed work would be needed to separate the legal costs from that figure.

Telephone Preference Service (Exemptions)

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what representations she has received from the charity sector on exempting charities from the list of organisations that are barred from calling people that have registered with the Telephone Preference Service; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what her Department's policy is on the inclusion of charities among the organisations that are barred from calling people that have registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have received no representations from the charity sector suggesting that there is any need to exempt charities from the list of organisations which are prohibited from making unsolicited calls to consumers registered with the Telephone Preference Service scheme. Charitable organisations are still able to make calls to such registered consumers if they have received prior consent, which overrides the consumer's TPS registration.

Telephone Preference Service (Exemptions)

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what opportunities there are for people who register with the Telephone Preference Service to exclude charities from the list of organisations barred from calling them.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	Charitable organisations are still able to make calls to Telephone Preference Service registered consumers if the consumer has given prior consent, as that consent overrides the registration.

Telephone Preference Service (Exemptions)

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the merits of exempting charities from the list of organisations that are barred from calling people that have registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	None. We have received no representations from charities on this matter.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Amateur Radio

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom about the Amateur Radio Licensing consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I have had no discussions with the Office of Communications (Ofcom) on this matter. Consultation on amateur radio licensing is the responsibility of Ofcom, which is the independent regulator for the communications sector, deriving its main powers and duties directly from statute rather than by delegation from the Secretary of State, and accountable to Parliament in its own right.

Bankruptcies

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bankruptcies have been declared in each year since 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In England and Wales there were:
	28,021 bankruptcy orders in 2003
	35,898 bankruptcy orders in 2004
	For 2005, figures are only available for the first three quarters to end September, there were:
	34,782 bankruptcy orders for the first three quarters of 2005 (not seasonally adjusted).
	More detailed insolvency statistics for Great Britain from 1997 onwards are available on the DTI website at http://www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv. Figures for 2005 as a whole will be available on 3 February 2006.

British Nuclear Group

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had on the potential sale of British Nuclear Group over the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ministers and officials have met with BNFL and key stakeholders to discuss a range of strategic options for British Nuclear Group, including the possibility of a sale, to give it the best chance of success in the future and place it in the strongest possible position to win the upcoming NDA site competitions.

Business Support

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small businesses have obtained contracts from Government bodies to conduct research on their behalf under the Small Business Research Initiative in the last two years, broken down by (a) number of different companies, (b) number of companies who have obtained more than one contract and (c) size of the contracts obtained.

Alun Michael: Not all Government Departments maintained detailed records in respect of their contracts during the voluntary phase of SBRI and so their breakdown requested is not available.
	In the Budget on 16 March this year, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, mandated Departments to participate in the Small Business Research Initiative and the DTFs Small Business Service will shortly publish the overall performance figures. Where possible the report will give contract values and set out what these represent as a percentage of baseline R and D budgets for 200304 and 200405.
	The Government is taking steps to improve disclosure of Small Business Research Initiative performance by Departments. A new system of record keeping will be in place from April 2006 and we intend that contract details such as have been requested will be available at the end of 200607.

Carbon Sequestration Technology

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to improve the use of carbon sequestration technology in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 15 November 2005
	The Carbon Abatement Technology Strategy which I announced in June this year includes a number of activities to encourage the development and deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) also known as Carbon Sequestration technologies. Copies of the Strategy are available in the Libraries of the House.
	These activities include support for R and D with some 4 million announced for R and D as part of the latest call for proposals under the Department's Technology Programme. Additionally I announced some 25 million from 200607 over 4 years for the demonstration of Carbon Abatement Technologies which includes Carbon Capture and Storage.
	In his Budget Statement this year my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that we would look into the possibility of measures to encourage the deployment of CCS as part of the Climate Change Programme Review. We expect to announce the results of this when the Review is Published in the next few weeks.
	A number of other activities identified in the Strategy are also being taken forward.

Clear Skies Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many schools have applied for grants under the community stream of his Department's Clear Skies grant programme.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 15 November 2005
	137 applications were made to Clear Skies from schools of which 71 were offered funding.

Clear Skies Programme

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support from his Department will be available to school solar hot water and wind installations after the final funding round for Clear Skies community grants ends on 4 November.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 15 November 2005
	Further funding for schools will be available through a low carbon buildings programme, which will allow developers to chose the most appropriate technology for each project, including all those mentioned. We recently announced a budget of 30 million over three years for the new programme which will begin in April 2006, subject to EU State Aids approval. The Department is also looking to work in partnership with major private sector players in the energy field in order to expand the micro generation sector, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy technologies on schools.

Clear Skies Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the deadline was for community grant applications to the Clear Skies grant programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The final deadline for community applications to Clear Skies was 4 November

Clear Skies Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grant support is available to community groups for (a) solar water heating, (b) wind, (c) hydro and (d) ground source heat pumps projects following the final deadline for community applications to his Department's Clear Skies programme.

Malcolm Wicks: Further funding for community groups will be available through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme for which we recently announced a budget of 30 million over three years. The new programme will allow developers to choose the most appropriate technology for each project, including all those mentioned above. The new programme will begin in April 2006, subject to EU State Aids approval. The Department is also looking to work in partnership with major private sector players in the energy field in order to expand the micro generation sector, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy technologies on schools.

Clear Skies Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the take-up to date has been by (a) home-owners and (b) community groups of funding for technologies supported under the Clear Skies Initiative for (i) solar water heating, (ii) wind, (iii) hydro, (iv) ground source heat pumps, (v) automated wood pellet stoves and (vi) wood fuel boilers.

Malcolm Wicks: Household applications under Clear Skies are as follows:
	
		
			 Technology Number applications Number accepted 
		
		
			 Solar Thermal 6,393 5,342 
			 Wind Tubines 184 159 
			 Small Scale Hydro Turbines 15 13 
			 Ground Source Heat Pumps 574 489 
			 BiomassWood Fuelled Boilers 65 52 
			 BiomassPellet Stoves 60 46 
			 Total 7,291 6,101 
		
	
	
		Community grants supported by technology
		
			  Number of installations/ technologies Proportion percentage 
		
		
			 Solar 187 35.66 
			 Wind 65 19.00 
			 Hydro 8 4.93 
			 Heat Pumps 60 16.99 
			 Biomass 65 23.42 
			  385 100.00 
			
			 Total number of projects 333 
			 More than one technology 43

Coal Health Schemes

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many legal firms his Department appointed to process compensation claims under the coal health schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not appoint solicitors, claimants choose their solicitor. To date there are 758 firms handling claims under the coal health schemes.

Coal Health Schemes

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria his Department used in appointing legal firms to process compensation claims under the coal health schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not appoint solicitors, claimants choose their solicitor.

Coal Health Schemes

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how his Department monitors the legal firms who have been appointed to process compensation claims under the coal health schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not appoint solicitors, claimants choose their solicitor. The Law Society is responsible for solicitors' conduct and has a Helpline (0845 608 6565) which claimants may contact with any complaints about individual firms of solicitors.

Competition Act

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether (a) the Office of Fair Trading and (b) other Government Departments consulted the Charity Commission on the impact of the Competition Act 1998 on charities; and what advice the Charity Commission has given on the information-sharing provisions in the Act.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prior to the entry into force of the Competition Act 1998 in March 2000, the OFT issued detailed guidelines on the Act and its impact. These guidelines were the subject of extensive public consultation. There is no record of a response to the consultation from the Charity Commission.

Consumer Direct

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry approximately how many hits a week the website Consumer Direct gets; approximately how many consumer complaints are submitted to the website each week; and which five items consumers have most frequently made complaints about in the last three months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Consumer Direct has a telephone helpline as well as an online service, which is operational in Scotland, Wales, and six English regions. The service will be available throughout Great Britain in March 2006. On a weekly basis the website receives approximately 8,722 hits a week, and on average 163 complaint forms are submitted. Approximately 20,000 calls a week and 13,000 new cases are received on the telephone helpline. In the last three months the most frequently complained about consumer goods were:
	
		
			  Complaints 
		
		
			 Home maintenance and improvements 11,909 
			 Second hand cars 9,874 
			 Furniture 8,454 
			 Telecommunications 8,155 
			 Audio visual 6,065

Draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations on the provision of flexible retirement ages by private businesses;
	(2)  what advice his Department has provided to businesses about the operation of flexible retirement ages in relation to the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 November 2005
	The draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations introduce a new statutory right for employees to request working beyond their employers' compulsory retirement age, if there is one. Employers will have a duty to consider such requests seriously. The Coming of Age consultation document that we published on 14 July explained that:
	The statutory request by the employee is to continue working under the same terms and conditions as had applied up to the retirement date. However, there is nothing to prevent the employee proposing, or the employer suggesting, a different working pattern that might suit them both better. Neither side will be obliged to accept proposals for change.
	We have asked ACAS to produce good practice guidance on the regulations, which will be published when the regulations have been approved by Parliament.
	We believe that the new duty to consider procedure will help ensure a constructive discussion about options for retirement that will help accelerate the necessary culture change.

Draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under what circumstances an individual forced to retire over the age of 65 will be able to appeal on grounds of age discrimination under the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 November 2005
	The dismissal of an employee at or over the age of 65 will not contravene the regulations if the reason for the dismissal is retirement.
	Employees will be able to appeal if they believe that the employer has not carried out the new duty to consider procedure correctly in connection with requests to work beyond a compulsory retirement age. Employees can also challenge a compulsory retirement they believe to be dismissal for some other reason. The consultation on the draft regulations closed on 17 October. We are considering what changes we need to make to the regulations in the light of those responses.

Economic Cycles

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the relative responsiveness to the natural economic cycle of distribution and manufacturing.

Alun Michael: Analysis of data over the last twenty years shows that the output of the manufacturing sector has tended to behave more cyclically than the economy as a whole, and that the distributive sectors have experienced a similar strength of cycle to that in the economy as a whole. One reason for manufacturing having a stronger cycle is that it is very dependent on world demand, and thus affected by external shocks.
	These findings should be seen against the substantial improvement in macroeconomic stability in the economy as a whole in recent years. In the period since 1997 UK GDP growth has been more stable than any other G7 country. By contrast, in the period 19791996 growth in the UK was the most volatile in the G7, with the exception of Canada.

Electricity

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the costs associated with being able to provide for future maximum winter electricity demand as a consequence of (a) providing for a strengthened and expanded national grid and (b) decentralising energy supplies;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the relative costs of meeting peak winter demand for electricity through (a) the provision of extra capacity within the national grid and (b) the decentralisation of energy supply.

Malcolm Wicks: Assessments of this nature are for market participants to make. National grid publish information on their electricity demand forecasts in their seven year statement to assist such assessments.

Emissions Targets

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of a waiver of fines for breaching limits on carbon dioxide emissions in the event of a cold winter; and what assessment he has made of (a) the potential for a breach of carbon dioxide emissions targets, in the event of a cold winter a shortfall of gas supplies and (b) options to ensure security of supply.

Malcolm Wicks: There are no regulatory limits on carbon dioxide emissions. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme requires participants to produce carbon allowances equal to their emissions on an annual basis. Under the rules of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme Directive, the Government allocates a number of allowances to installations free of charge. If an installation emits a high level of carbon at one time, it can either purchase additional allowances to cover that or reduce its carbon emissions at other times so as to remain within its existing free allocation for the year or to sell allowances. The scheme therefore does not place any constraint on fuel switching in the event of temporary tightness in the gas supply market, whether due to a cold winter or other cause. The Government has no intention of waiving the requirements of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	National Grid's Winter Outlook Report, published by Ofgem on 5 October and available at http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/temp/ofgem/cache/cmsattach/l2493_214_05.pdf sets out their assessment of gas supply and demand for the coming winter.
	The Government believe that security of supply is best achieved through a liberalised, competitive market in which market participants have every commercial incentive to ensure that supply meets demand and price signals provide the most effective and efficient means of enabling them to do so. The Government and Ofgem work continually with National Grid and with Ofgem to find ways of improving the operation of the market, for example through the provision of better and more timely information and through tackling potential regulatory barriers.

Employment Regulations

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations on the pay of under 21-year-olds.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are satisfied that the national minimum wage age bands are entirely consistent with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations.

Energy Costs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the impact of increased energy costs on British manufacturing companies.

Malcolm Wicks: The impact of increased energy costs on British manufacturing companies will depend on a variety of factors, including how much gas and/or electricity a particular company uses, the degree of their exposure to spot and/or forward prices, and the duration of the high prices. The impact on their competitiveness will also be affected by the energy prices paid by their competitors, both in the UK and internationally.
	Several representative trade associations, such as the Engineering Employers Federation and the British Plastics Federation have made assessments of the impact of increased energy costs on their members. The Department is working with the Energy Intensive Users Group and Ofgem through the Gas Prices Working Group to develop ideas for improving the operation of the forward market and ways to mitigate the effects of high forward gas prices. The group has agreed an Action List of short to medium term measures, such as maximising UK gas supplies, encouraging demand side response and pursuing energy market liberalisation in the EU.

Energy Costs

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) major UK oil and gas producers concerning the mitigation of the impact of rising energy prices on low-income households.

Malcolm Wicks: I discuss aspects of energy policy, including tackling fuel poverty, with ministerial colleagues as appropriate. Businesses benefit from corporate social responsibility programmes, and I have encouraged companies in the energy sector to consider low-income households in developing such programmes. It is for individual companies to devise their own corporate social responsibility measures.

European Institute of Technology

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  whether the UK Government will support European Commission proposals for the establishment of a European Institute of Technology;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the European Commission on establishing a European Institute of Technology;
	(3)  whether the UK Government would support a bid from Scottish universities to host all or part of the European Institute of Technology.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 9 November 2005
	The European Commission is currently conducting a consultation on the idea of setting up an European Institute of Technology. I have not had any discussions with the Commission on this issue, but I am clear that any further proposals must result in adding value to European universitiesboosting excellence and ensuring Europe is prepared to respond to the challenge of globalisation. We do not however believe that establishing a bricks and mortar institution would be appropriate, but clearly we will want to ensure that universities throughout the UK are well placed to take advantage of whatever eventually emerges from the Commission. The UK response to the Commission's consultation will be submitted shortly and a copy will be placed in the House Libraries.

Export and Investment Guarantees Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991.

Ian Pearson: The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) is the UK's export credit agency. It is a Department of State whose existence and powers are governed by the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991. Its core statutory powers are to facilitate the export of goods and services from the United Kingdom and to insure specified risks on overseas investments made by United Kingdom entities.
	Details of the Department's operations are published in its annual review and resource accounts, which are laid before Parliament every year and can be found on ECGD's website at www.ecgd.gov.uk/index/pr_home/pi_ar.htm.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the response made by the Export Credits Guarantee Agency to the Berne Union Survey on Agent's Commissions, published in April.

Ian Pearson: I have placed copies of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's response to the Berne Union Survey on Agent's Commissions in the Libraries of the House.

Fireworks

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many injuries resulting from fireworks there have been in (a) Norfolk, (b) the East of England, (c) England and (d) the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The fireworks injury statistics for these years are as follows:
	
		
			  Firework injuries 
		
		
			 (a) Norfolk not available 
			 (b) East of England  
			 2004 112 
			 2003 77 
			 2002 71 
			 2001 not available 
			 2000 not available 
			 (c) England  
			 2004 1,021 
			 2003 974 
			 2002 833 
			 2001 1,208 
			 2000 849 
			 (d) United Kingdom  
			 2004 1,160 
			 2003 1,136 
			 2002 1,017 
			 2001 1,362 
			 2000 972 
		
	
	Statistics for the United Kingdom are for England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland is not included.

Gas Supplies

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government continue to regard Iran as a potential supplier of gas to the United Kingdom.

Malcolm Wicks: With a share of over 15 per cent. of the world's proven reserves of natural gas, Iran has the potential to become an increasingly important gas producer. Whether Iranian gas might at some point in the future supply the UK market would depend on Iranian production and export policies, and be a matter for commercial operators who have every incentive to make their own assessment of the merits of supplies from different countries.

Gas Supplies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to identify (a) which businesses are likely to be most affected by a shortfall in gas supplies and (b) the impact of any shortfall on such businesses; what measures his Department is considering to address such concerns; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: In the event of a shortfall in gas supplies the Government expect gas demand to reduce itself in response to rising prices. Which companies choose to reduce their gas consumption in this way is a matter for themselves and will depend on such matters as the terms of their gas supply contracts and their own individual cost structures. In previous years, the electricity supply industry has routinely responded in this way to seasonally higher gas prices, switching electricity production to coal-fired and other generating stations instead, and this sector would be expected to respond in the same way this year. This is described in detail in National Grid's Winter Outlook Report, published by Ofgem on 5 October and available at www.ofgem.gov.uk/temp/ofgem/cache/cmsattach/12493_214_05.pdf.
	In addition, the Government commissioned a report from Global Insight earlier this year to consider the likely response from other industrial sectors. This is available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/publications/policy/industrial_demand_responde.pdf. Work is currently under way jointly with industry to update the conclusions of that work in the light of developments over the summer.
	The Government and Ofgem have worked with large industrial users of gas through a Demand Side Working Group and through a Gas Prices Working Group to consider ways of facilitating the operation of the market, particularly on the demand side, and mitigating the impact of higher gas prices. Outputs of that work include the launch of a new website providing near real-time information about supply and demand in the gas market and the introduction of a Gas Balancing Alert notifying market participants when the supply-demand balance is likely to be tight. The Government are also aware of innovative work by market participants themselves to develop instruments to encourage demand side response on a commercial basis.

MG Rover

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his Department's inspectors' report on MG Rover will be published.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The inspectors have not completed their enquiries and so have not yet submitted their report to my right hon. Fiend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Whilst the investigation is making good progress I am unable to say when the report will be submitted. The Secretary of State will then consider publication.

MG Rover

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public funding has been allocated to tackle issues related to the collapse of MG Rover to date, broken down by main cost area; and what estimate he has made of the cost of administration of MG Rover by PricewaterhouseCoopers to date.

Ian Pearson: The main areas of public funding allocated to tackle issues related to the collapse of MG Rover have been:
	1. Support Package
	The Government announced a 150 million package of support following the collapse of Rover on 15 April:
	up to 50 million for training for workers made redundant at MG Rover and suppliers (25 million of new money from the DTI, DWP and European Social Fund and priority access to 25 million from the Employer Training Pilots for companies affected by MG Rover in the West Midlands and nationally; and support for people wanting to start businesses);
	over 40 million to cover redundancy payments and protective awards for Longbridge workers;
	24 million for the MG Rover Task Force, including 15 million to establish a loan fund to help otherwise viable businesses affected by MG Rover's collapse and 9 million for other purposes; and
	41.6 million already made available for MG Rover suppliers.
	2. RDA Investment
	In addition, Advantage West Midlands is making an investment of 42 million for the redevelopment of the Longbridge site and the establishment of a technology park there together with a grant of 19.3 million to Warwick Manufacturing Group's International Automotive Research Centre.
	3. Loan to Administrators
	The Government made a 6.5 million loan to the administrators to sustain the company (i.e. to allow wages and other expenses to be paid) for a week in order to provide a short breathing space to assist the administrators to look quickly at any prospect of selling part or all of the companies as a going concern and to enable the position of the workforce to be resolved in an orderly manner.
	4. Company Inspection
	In addition, on 31 May 2005 the Secretary of State appointed inspectors to investigate issues raised by the Financial Reporting Review Panel in their report and developments after 2003. The total costs of both inspectors as at the end of September are 1.6 million. The accountant inspector has a team of junior staff working for him, retrieving, copying, logging and analysing documents. The costs are inherently front loaded because of the need to obtain the records and financial information at the outset. Whilst it is always difficult to predict the length of inspections both the Secretary of State and the inspectors are intent on completing this inspection as quickly as possible, with due regard to the fairness procedures, and to the thoroughness of the task.
	5. PWC costs
	PWC report to the company creditors on the joint administrators remuneration costs. The latest (six month) report showed PWC's costs as 5.6 million for MG Rover Group Ltd and l million for Powertrain Ltd. There will be additional costs for some of the other companies in administration.

MG Rover

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total estimated costs are of the investigation commissioned by his Department into the collapse of MG Rover; and what the expected timetable is for completing this work.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total costs of both inspectors as at the end of September are 1.6 million. The accountant inspector has a team of junior staff working for him, retrieving, copying, logging and analysing documents. The costs of the inspection are inherently front loaded because of the need to obtain the records and financial information at the outset. While it is always difficult to predict the length of inspections both the Secretary of State and the inspectors are intent on completing this inspection as quickly as possible, with due regard to the fairness procedures, and to the thoroughness of the task.

Nuclear Industry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies he has commissioned into the impact of (a) contractualisation and (b) privatisation on the British nuclear industry; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: None.

Office of Fair Trading

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff hours the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has devoted to its inquiry into fees at independent schools; how the schools being investigated were selected for inclusion in the inquiry; and what proportion of the OFT's staff has been involved in the inquiry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	(i) The OFT informs me that it does not have figures that differentiate costs between cases pre-dating the launch of its dedicated time recording systems on 1 April 2004. The investigation into independent school fees commenced in June 2003. The figures available show that the hours worked by staff in the OFT's Competition Enforcement Division on the investigation since 1 April 2004 are approximately 5354. These figures are the direct costs recorded by staff in the OFT's Competition Enforcement Division and do not include time spent by specialists in the OFT's Legal Division or the OFT's economic advice team in its Markets and Policy Initiatives Division.
	(ii) The OFT's investigation concerns the exchange of confidential information amongst fee paying independent schools relating to their intended fee increases and fee levels. The OFT has focused its investigation on those schools involved in the survey known as the Sevenoaks survey. Further information is contained in a press notice that was issued by the OFT on 9 November 2005 which is available on the OFT website:
	www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press==releases/2005/214
	(iii) Save at the very outset, when the investigation was led by a single Principal Investigation Officer, the investigation has at any one time been led by two Principal Case Officers with support, as required, from other staff within the OFT's Competition Directorate Enforcement Division and from the OFT's Legal Division and the economic advice team in its Markets and Policy Initiatives Division. The case has also had up to three paralegal temporary staff employed at any one time to assist with the organisation of the 13,000 plus documents on the OFT's file, to which the parties have a right of access and from which confidential information must be redacted.
	The level of resources dedicated to the case is in proportion to the staff resources the OFT's Competition Enforcement Division dedicates to dealing with cases of this size under the Competition Act 1998. The Division has 156 dedicated staff, including 66 Principal Case Officers.

Packaging

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from the packaging industry requesting a (a) review of and (b) changes to the Supermarkets Code of Practice with Suppliers; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 15 November 2005
	I have received a number of representations concerning the supermarkets code form a range of stakeholders. The Department currently handles around 50,000 letters a year and approximately 200,000 emails, but that a further breakdown in the form requested is not available.

Packaging

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received calling for (a) taxes and (b) bans on specific packaging material and products; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: None. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received representations calling for either of these things in relation to packaging material and products.

Pakistan

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will use their EU presidency to press for Pakistan following the earthquake to be given at least the same trade concessions that were given to the tsunami-affected countries.

Ian Pearson: To help the tsunami-affected countries, there was an attempt to bring forward the commencement date of the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to 1 April 2005 from 1 January 2006. Unfortunately agreement could not be reached at the EU General Affairs External Relations Council on 16 March 2005 to do this (because of differences between member states over the graduation threshold for textiles and clothing). However despite this effort to bring forward the new scheme, the tsunami-affected countries were always set to benefit from the new GSP scheme which will come into force from 1 January 2006.
	Sri Lanka, however, has benefited from the introduction of a new GSP Plus scheme which has been in place since 1 July 2005. It was the only tsunami-affected country to meet the criteria for this scheme.

Pension Reform

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he was first informed that he would be responsible for public sector pensions reform.

Alan Johnson: I was first informed of this responsibility in mid-March 2005.

Pension Reform

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from which Departments officials who accompanied him to meetings with trade union representatives to discuss public sector pensions reform came.

Alan Johnson: I was accompanied to those meetings by officials representing employer Departments (DfES, DH, Cabinet Office and ODPM), policy officials from HMT and Cabinet Office and a DTI Private Secretary and Special Adviser.

Pension Reform

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list (a) the dates of and (b) those present at meetings attended by him to discuss public sector pensions reform with trade union representatives.

Alan Johnson: (a) I attended meetings on 31 March, 22 June, 11 and 26 July and 17 and 18 October.
	(b) Representatives of the TUC, UNISON, PCS/CCSU, Amicus, SCP, NATFHE, GMB, T and G, ATL and TGWU were present at these meetings. My right hon. Friend, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office and my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth also attended, together with officials representing employer Departments (DfES, DH, Cabinet Office and ODPM), policy officials from HMT and Cabinet Office and a DTI Private Secretary and DTI Special Adviser. Different combinations of these people were present at the various meetings: not everyone attended every meeting.

Phoenix Development Fund

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many initiatives in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield District and (c) Normanton constituency have been awarded funding from the Phoenix Development Fund; and if he will extend funding to encourage the growth of more social enterprises in disadvantaged communities.

Alun Michael: The Phoenix Development Fund has awarded funding to six projects in West Yorkshire. One of those projects covered the Wakefield district; none covered the Normanton constituency.
	Business Support activities and funding for social enterprises, and other disadvantaged communities, is part of the new remit of regional development agencies, who best understand the needs of their communities.

Post Offices

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions his Department and Postcomm have had with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and local authorities regarding supporting the rural Post Office network; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: DTI Ministers and officials meet with colleagues across Government, including those in Defra and the Local Government Association on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the Post Office network, including the future of the rural network.
	I have asked the Chief Executive of Postcomm to respond directly to the hon. Member on any discussions it has had with Defra and local authorities.

Power Supply (Dacorum)

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the quality of power supply to businesses and homes in Dacorum.

Malcolm Wicks: Any concerns regarding the quality of power supplies should be directed in the first instance to the appropriate electricity provider. Further concerns should be directed to Energywatch, the independent body for electricity and gas consumers.
	Nationally, I am aware that statistics from national grid show that transmission (high voltage) network reliability has improved from 99.9989 per cent. between 19952000 to 99.9992 per cent. from 200005. The reliability of the distribution networks in Britain has also improved, with power cuts down by 11 per cent. since privatisation.

Radioactive Waste

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the difference in the radioactive longevity of (a) radioactive waste arising from irradiated thermal oxide pressurised water reactor nuclear fuel and (b) mixed plutonium-uranium oxide fuel.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has made no such assessment but I am advised that recent studies by Nexia Solutions on comparison of this nature showed that the radio toxicity of irradiated MOX starts off higher compared to irradiated uranium oxide fuel. This is because MOX incorporates plutonium removed from a store and the residual mass of plutonium at discharge from the reactor is higher. However, for a meaningful comparison, it is prudent to compare the radio toxicity of irradiated MOX fuel against that of irradiated uranium oxide fuel combined with stored plutonium. This more meaningful comparison shows that the radio toxicity of irradiated MOX starts off higher than irradiated uranium oxide/stored plutonium until after 1,000 years when the radio toxicity of the irradiated MOX falls below that of the irradiated uranium oxide/stored plutonium.

REACH Proposals

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received on the application of REACH proposals to the UK minerals industry, broken down by those (a) supporting and (b) opposing its application; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Government have received a number of representations from different parts of industry, including the minerals sector, as well as from many other stakeholders on the proposed REACH regulation (registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals). These included responses to the UK's public consultation last year.
	Engagement with all interested stakeholders has been central to the Government's development of policy on the REACH regulation, and the representations made have been taken into account as far as possible in refining successive drafts of the regulation.
	There is general support from stakeholders for the regulation's objectives of enhancing protection of human health and the environment, and rationalising the existing fragmented regulatory regime. The detailed scrutiny given to the regulation over the last two years is now close to conclusion, and includes clarification of certain exemptions that have been welcomed by the minerals industry. The Government believe the final outcome will enable the REACH regulation to achieve its objectives in a way that helps maintain industry competitiveness.

Red Diesel

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the price is of red diesel for agricultural use; and what it was in (a) 1975, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d) 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: The price of red diesel for agricultural use in 1975, 1980, 1990 and 2000 is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Price (pence per litre) 
		
		
			 1975 5.7 
			 1980 15.8 
			 1990 17.0 
			 2000 23.9

Regional Development Agencies

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make the spending plans of regional development agencies more accessible and transparent.

Alun Michael: The spending plans of England's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are set out in their corporate plans for the period 2005 to 2008. The RDAs consulted widely with all interested parties about the development of their corporate plans and have published the plans on their websites. The RDAs will also publish on their websites six monthly progress reports on the delivery of their corporate plan commitments.

Regional Development Agencies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the regional development agencies have paid to businesses (a) in 2005 and (b) in the previous three years in respect of research and development grants, broken down into (i) amounts paid to small and medium sized businesses and (ii) amounts paid to large sized businesses.

Alun Michael: I have asked each Regional Development Agency to provide me with the relevant information about the region's activities. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when I have the necessary information and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Regional Development Agencies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what formal co-ordination takes place (a) between the overseas offices of the regional development agencies and (b) between the regional development agencies and UK Trade and Investment to attract inbound investment into the UK; how frequently consultation takes place and at what level; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Michael: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) overseas offices systematically hold regular in-country meetings, collectively and individually with RDA overseas offices. Frequency varies from country to country. Meetings include an annual peer review and systematic bilateral exchanges of pursuit lists to maximise effectiveness in attracting inward investment.

Renewable Energy

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity of grant support to (a) school and (b) other community facilities for (i) wind, (ii) solar hot water, (iii) hydro, (iv) biomass and (v) ground source heat pump projects.

Malcolm Wicks: A new Low Carbon Buildings Programme will continue to offer grant support to school and community projects once the current Clear Skies Programme comes to an end. The new programme, for which we recently announced a budget of 30 million over the years, will begin in April 2006, subject to EU state aids approval. The Department is also looking to work in partnership with major private sector players in the energy field in order to expand the micro generation sector, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy technologies on schools.

Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates he has made of the average Government funding per annum for (a) 2002 to 2006 and (b) 2006 to 2009 for (i) the micro-renewables sector as a whole, (ii) the solar photovoltaic programme and (iii) the micro-renewable technologies hitherto supported by the Clear Skies initiative.

Malcolm Wicks: Both the solar photovoltaics (PV) programme and Clear Skies run until March 2006. The PV programme had a budget of 31 million from 200206.
	The Clear Skies programme had a budget of 12.5 million from 200306. The new low carbon buildings programme will have a budget of 30 million over three years. It will start in April 2006 subject to EU State Aids clearance. 1.5 million of the 30 million budget has been brought forward to ensure a smooth transition between the old programmes and the new one to address industry concerns of a potential funding gap.

Research and Development

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the performance of companies which rely heavily on investment in research and development in the last four years; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Michael: On 24 October the Department of Trade and Industry published the 15th annual R and D Scoreboard. This gives financial information about the top 1,000 global companies by R and D investment and the top 750 UK-based companies by R and D investment.
	Despite an overall fall of 0.5 per cent. in the R and D reported by UK-based companies from 2004, the 2005 R and D Scoreboard contains encouraging signs of growth in UK R and D-intensive companies. There were 7 per cent. more R and D vigorous firms (those with R and D spending of at least 4 per cent. of sales and over l million) than in the previous year, and 32 per cent. more than in 2001. And there was a 77 per cent. increase in middle-sized, very R and D intensive companies with R and D intensity of over 10 per cent. substantial R and D of over 6.4 million and sales of over 26 million.
	Details of the Scoreboard are available from http://www.innovation.gov.uk/rd_scoreboard/

Social Enterprises

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much government funding social enterprises in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency (i) have received in the 200506 financial year and (ii) received in 200405.

Alun Michael: DTI sees social enterprise as a key element in delivery of the enterprise agenda, and a specific social enterprise day this week as part of Enterprise Week has helped to make this point in Yorkshire and elsewhere.
	Yorkshire Forward, as the regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber, has provided the following investment to support the Social Enterprise sector's development across West Yorkshire. This is being delivered through W.Y.S.E. Link, (a partnership between Business Link West Yorkshire and the Social Enterprise Support Centre) to deliver tailored support to social enterprises and grow the sector.
	200304: 1,080,337
	200405: 1,549,634
	Information is not available at district or constituency level.

Social Enterprises

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new jobs have been created through social enterprise in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency since 1997.

Alun Michael: A total of 421 jobs have been created in West Yorkshire, including 24 in Wakefield, according to figures provided by W.Y.S.E Link which is a partnership between Business Link West Yorkshire and the Social Enterprise Support Centre. It's purpose is to deliver tailored support to social enterprises and grow the sector. It is supported jointly by Yorkshire Forward as the regional development agency to the region and Business Link West Yorkshire.

Social Enterprises

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to encourage the growth of social enterprises in the most deprived areas of Wakefield district, with particular reference to Normanton constituency.

Alun Michael: The continued development of the social enterprise sector across the region remains a key priority for Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber. Yorkshire Forward recognises the unique potential of social enterprises to stimulate economic regeneration and business growth in some of our more deprived areas.
	As a result, providing support for the social enterprise sector is a key priority within the consultation draft of the revised regional economic strategy, and via its corporate plan, Yorkshire Forward has committed to working with partners to mainstream social enterprise support within the Business Link brokerage networkssomething that is already well established within West Yorkshire via WYSE Link, a partnership between Business Link West Yorkshire and the Social Enterprise Support Centre to deliver tailored support to social enterprises and grow the sector.
	In addition, Yorkshire Forward is one of the key partners in the Social Economy Development Framework for Yorkshire and Humber, and 'Onwards and Outwardsan investment plan for social enterprise for Yorkshire and Humber 2004 to 2014'.
	As part of this region-wide commitment, Yorkshire Forward has already invested over 1.5 million in WYSE Link, and has recently made an additional investment of some 5.7 million to further expand WYSE Link's provision up to March 2009. This ongoing support will help to ensure that social enterprises across West Yorkshire continue to receive a comprehensive and expert business support service.
	Support is available across West Yorkshire and is not available at constituency or district level.
	In addition the Yorkshire and the Humber European Objective 2 programme has also recently developed a specific measure aimed at social enterprises. The total amount of funding available is 6 million ERDF which, with matched funds, should deliver 15 million worth of assistance by 2008. So far one project has been approved in West Yorkshire, based in Wakefield, which will assist 35 social enterprises.
	In 2005, all local authorities in receipt of neighbourhood renewal funding have been invited to apply for funding under the local growth initiative, LEGI, to promote and remove barriers to enterprise in the most deprived areas in England. Those authorities have been given between 80,000 and 120,000 pump priming funds, to help with the development of their proposals. Entry is through a three year rolling programme of annual competitions. Successful applicants will receive anything from 2 million to 10 million, available from five to 10 years.

Solar Photovoltaics Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to implement the Government's White Paper commitments to a 2002 to 2012 UK solar photovoltaics programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has supported photovoltaics since 2002 through the 31 million Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme. We plan to continue its support for photovoltaics and other building scale renewables through a low carbon buildings programme, which is currently under development. The new programme will have a budget of 30 million over three years. It will start in April 2006 subject to EU State Aids clearance.

Solar Photovoltaics Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to implement the (a) 2001 Opportunities for All and (b) 2003 Energy White Paper commitments to a 10 year solar photovoltaics programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has supported Photovoltaics since 2002 through the 31 million Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme. We plan to continue its support for Photovoltaics and other building scale renewables through a low carbon buildings programme, which is currently under development. The new programme will have a budget of 30 million over three years. It will start in April 2006 subject to EU State Aids clearance.

Solar Photovoltaics Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the take-up to date has been by (a) home-owners and (b) community groups of the funding for photovoltaics under the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme the number of projects offered grants under each stream are as follows:
	(a) 1,551, of which 29 were rejected
	(b) 213

Solar Photovoltaics Programme

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a similar system to the German feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaics in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: We believe for the UK that it would not be right to set a price for exported electricity. To do so would risk distorting the electricity supply market and would be incompatible with the liberalised arrangements for the UK electricity market and the market for renewable electricity provided by the Renewables Obligation. The framework underpinning our competitive energy markets was established to provide market-based solutions to our energy needs. Intervention by the Government to the extent of setting a price for exported electricity would be an unwarranted intervention that could have adverse effects on the confidence and certainty our liberal framework provides for investors.

Solar Photovoltaics Programme

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on private sector investment in the UK solar photovoltaics industry of his Department's decision to develop a technology-blind low carbon buildings programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The Renewable Innovation Review, February 2004, recommended a more holistic approach to energy use in buildings incorporating both energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. It recommended taking this forward through a technology blind, capital grant based, low carbon buildings programme and this is what we intend to do. A budget of 30 million over three years for the programme was announced on 2 November. It will be launched in April 2006 subject to EU state aids clearance.
	The new programme and the wider micro generation strategy currently under development will aim to introduce further measures to help develop a sustainable market for solar PV as well as all the buildings renewable technologies.

Sunday Trading

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the recently commissioned review of extension of Sunday trading; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department is in the process of commissioning research into the liberalisation of Sunday Trading. We expect the work to be completed in March, when we will publish the results.

Telephone Preference Service

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions enforcement action has been taken against companies for acting in breach of telephone preference service rules in each of the last five years.

Alun Michael: The Information Commissioner, who has responsibility for the enforcement of the Telephone Preference Service scheme, initially warns companies informally that it will initiate formal action unless they cease to make calls to numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service. The Commissioner tells me that this approach has been effective to date without the need for formal action, but that he will have no hesitation in using the powers of this office if there is any evidence of a failure to comply with a warning.

Trade Missions (India)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many trade missions to India involving businessmen have been sponsored by his Department in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 7 November 2005
	UK Trade and Investment's Support for Seminars and Exhibitions Abroad Scheme (SESA) supported 27 companies on sectoral missions to India in 200405. UKTI Forecast that 76 companies will go on SESA supported sectoral missions to India in 200506.
	The outward Mission Scheme, which ceased on 31 March, supported 52 companies on horizontal missions to India in 200405. Horizontal missions are now organised and run independently by the regions. Data for the years prior to, and post 200405 is held in a variety of locations and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Tyres

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many tyres were (a) purchased, (b) reused and (c) disposed of to (i) landfill, (ii) incineration, (iii) illegal fly-tipping and (iv) other means in each year since 2001.

Malcolm Wicks: Statistics on replacement tyre sales are provided by the British Rubber Manufacturers' Association and the Imported Tyre Manufacturers' Association. These sources represent the majority of activity in this sector, but there are other routes to market and the figures should therefore be viewed as indicative. A similar caution applies to the information relating to used tyre disposal and recovery, which DTI compiles on behalf of the used tyre working group.
	
		Replacement tyre sales
		
			  Units Tonnes 
		
		
			 2001 24,870,298 234,250 
			 2002 25,485,101 240,000 
			 2003 26,570,720 248,250 
		
	
	A figure for total used tyre arisings also needs to take account of various reuse tyres, not included in the previous figures, including retreads and part-worns, tyres on end of life vehicles and imports of used tyres.
	
		
			 Used tyre arisings 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Units 52,832,000 47,169,500 46,662,000 
			 Tonnes 481,500 447,000 444,000 
			 
			 Tonnes
			 Reused 117,650 105,100 113,400 
			 Energy recovery 40,000 48,000 77,500 
			 Other recovery 132,850 147,400 174,500 
			 Total 290,500 300,500 365,400 
		
	
	Information covering 2004 and the first six months of 2005 is expected to be available in early December. Figures already received covering 2004 show that the overall used tyre recovery performance has continued to improve.
	Tyres disposed of to landfill arise from two principal channels, retail outlets and end of life vehicles (ELVs). In the former case, figures show a sharp drop from over 87,000 tonnes in 2001 to under 30,000 tonnes in 2003. In the latter ELV a figure of 57,000 tonnes has remained constant for a number of years on the basis that all ELV tyres not reused as part-worns or retreads are disposed to landfill. DTI, together with the Environment Agency, has commissioned a survey of landfill operators to cover 2004 and the first six months of 2005 to establish more accurately the volume of tyres disposed to landfill.
	Tyre fly-tipping takes a number of forms, including those dealt with by landowners and local authorities, and those tyres dumped on the forecourts of tyre retail premises. No national data were collected before Defra and the Environment Agency set up the flycapture database in April 2004. English Waste Collection Authorities reported 23,046 incidents of fly-tipped tyres between April 2004 and March 2005. From April 2005 to September 2005 11,440 incidents were reported. The Environment Agency dealt with 280 incidents in 200405 and 77 so far in this financial year.

Wind Farms

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date building is expected to commence of the windfarm off Scarweather Sands.

Malcolm Wicks: The date building will commence at Scarweather Sands is not a matter for the Department but is a matter for the developer.